By Michel Outridge

THE people of Kairuni Village are of the opinion that 22-year-old Joy Ann,
who is the Village Leader will foster development within the community, thus, enhancing their lives.

She is the head of the Community Development Council (CDC) among a membership of 30 villagers, most of whom are young and they first started a group called the Kairuni Visionary Group.

This group started a year ago and they would do weekend clean-ups of the village, among other things.

According to Ann, when the group was formed they had a vision for developing the community, but had no real direction but after some consensus and analysing the needs of the people, they came together for a common cause.

She reported that their main focuses are to get a place for the youths to meet for activities; a community centre which is non-existent in the village; a better playfield for sporting activities and an ICT hub for the schoolchildren and young people to access information.

Ann added that they were given a run-down building which was the old nursery school and once renovated, they will use it for the ICT hub to accommodate computers, which they presently do not have.

Even though the village comes under the Region Four administration, they usually get more cooperation from Region 10, since it is closer in terms of transportation and other facilities such as schools.

“Our village is large with a population of 420 and there is a need for a health outpost here and this community is divided into two sections that is, uphill and downhill and [they are]separated by a bridge,” she said.

She related that her parents have a small shop and she would assist, since there are no permanent jobs in the village; her father is a farmer and a coal-miner while, her mother is a housewife, who enjoys gardening.

She has three siblings and the youngest is a spritely child named Rose, who is three years old.

Ann, who was born and raised in the village, stated that most people who reside in Kairuni are related because her grandmother and her sister were the first settlers in the community.

She disclosed that the community started developing 30 years ago when more people relocated there from Region One.

Kairuni Village has a lot of young people between the ages of 25 to 10 years old and 70 per cent of the population are very young with just about six elders.

Ann told the Pepperpot Magazine that the village was called Elizabeth and a creek runs right through the community.

She admitted that they have seen some form of development, but it is slow and with a processing plant with all the fresh fruits and vegetables that grow in the village, jobs can be created for villagers.

Despite the hardships of highway living, the place is perfect for a quiet family life of solitude and peace and full of nature, which is practically unspoiled.

Ann explained that to raise funds they would charge a fee of $2,000 per vendor when there is an event and the money garnered goes towards the upkeep of the village.

Cleaning of the community is done either on Wednesdays or Saturdays, and the group is working towards getting a place to have meetings.

The ballfield, she said, is used to play volleyball and cricket mostly and the youths of the village utilise it.

Although Ann was a facilitator of the Hinterland Employment and Youth Service (HEYS) programme in her village, she was unable to make her dream of attending the University of Guyana (UG) become a reality, because her family simply could not afford it.

She wanted to study food science to promote agriculture in her village, in order to eventually start a manufacturing and food-processing venture, since there is large-scale cassava cultivation there.

“There are a lot of things I would like to do for my village, but without money, there isn’t much I can do, but with the resources I have I am making much to foster development within this village,” she said.

Ann also functions as a counsellor among her peers and would lend a helping hand in any project within the village at any given time.

“We are really trying to enhance our lives here with what we have and if we get a little help in terms of the ICT hub, we will ensure it is used for the purpose intended, because it is essential to be informed of what’s happening within our country and farther afield,” she said.