– A comfortable place to live

THIS week the Pepperpot Magazine visited Meten-Meer-Zorg (MMZ), West Coast Demerara, a community that has a lot of roadside businesses and it is considered a place where everything is within reach.

Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara, is a very large village that is sandwiched between De Willem and De Kindren.

It is home to a multi-ethnic people and it is a place where commodities, goods, meats, vegetables and fruits are plentiful.

Meten-Meer-Zorg has its share of butcher shops, bars, supermarkets, shops, stores and many other small to large-sized businesses that line the public road and also within the village.

Meten-Meer-Zorg is divided into two parts. On the west side, there are Ocean Garden, Chateau’s Land, the original MMZ housing scheme, which was established by the sugar industry for workers, the Railway View, after which are the cane fields and backlands, which will be developed for a new housing scheme.

On the eastern side of the village are Kastev and Prem Nagar.

This community has potable water, electricity, cable, internet, landline and cellphone services, good infrastructure and a variety of services are also offered.

Meten-Meer-Zorg has a primary school, two nursery schools, a post office, a health centre, the office of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), gas stations, the Nirvana Humanitarian Society, beauty salons, restaurants, a Pepperpot Shop, a community centre ground, the MMZ Islamic Academy, two privately owned water businesses, two masjids, nine churches and two mandirs.

Most villagers work at the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, in the city and there are the small and large scale business owners, self-employed folk, the skilled tradespeople and the professionals, who hold office jobs, farmers, fishermen and others.

It is home to Editor-in-Chief of the News Room, Ms Fareeza Haniff, whose father is one of the local butchers; Acting President of the Central Islamic Organisation, Goolzar Namdar; President of the Region Three Chamber of Commerce, Halim Khan; NDC Chairman Ramzan Ali and many others.

The village starts from Tarla Dam and ends at the canal which separates the villages of Meten-Meer-Zorg and De Kinderen.

Meten-Meer-Zorg is home to about 6,000 people mostly of Indo and Afro descent and they co-exist peacefully.

The people of this community also take pride in keeping their surroundings and yards clean and tidy and they have planted many flower plants to beautify the environment.

The landscape has many large houses and other buildings that seem to tower several stories and the designs and layout are also interesting and very colourful.

Developmental highlights of the village
Meanwhile, the NDC Chairman, Ramzan Ali, took the time out to highlight developmental works within the community.

He stated that about 300 residents of the Sideline Dam recently benefitted from an all-weather road which was once a mud dam

Ali reported that Fourth Street, Prem Nagar, was upgraded through central government and a concrete bridge in Prem Nagar is being constructed by members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).

The NDC Chairman added that they have 20 Community Infrastructure Improvement Programme (CIIP) workers maintaining the drains, canals, and trenches and parapets in the community.

He stated that the Meten-Meer-Zorg NDC oversees the villages from Tuschen to Uitvlugt and they are tasked with maintenance of drains, trenches and canals within these villages.

“During the rainfall period from December to January, we had assistance from local government and did a massive clean-up of garbage in several villages to prevent flooding, because it was clogging drains and that was [the] main issue residents had,” he said.

Ali disclosed that during his walkabout in several villages, residents complained about the improper garbage disposal and it was recognised that some villagers are not making use of the private waste disposal service and are dumping refuse illegally.

The NDC
Ali reported that the Tuschen/Uitvlugt NDC has three staffers which includes the overseer, the assistant overseer, a ranger and 20 councillors.

At their service are three Environmental Health Officers, who are based at the NDC building.

He disclosed that their work plan for this year includes developing the village — streets will be upgraded, bridges will be constructed, and another concrete strip/walkway will be constructed at the Zeelugt Burial Ground and another at the Uitvlugt Burial Ground and Sideline Dam for easier access.

Ali stated that the Zeeburg Old Road will be re-paved with crush and run, repairs will be done to the fence around the NDC compound, front and back, a bridge at Block Eight Tuschen will be built and a concrete strip will be constructed there too.

The NDC Chairman added that drainage and irrigation works will be done in several villages and roads in Zeeburg will be upgraded this year.

The Village Imam
Ali is also the village Imam (Magee) of the MMZ West Masjid and officiates at the last rites of elders and members within the Muslim community.

He has been the Imam for the past 21 years and grew up in a staunch Muslim home. His parents are originally from Zeeburg, East Bank Essequibo, but he relocated to Meten-Meer-Zorg Village after marriage.

In 2000, the village Imam passed away and at his funeral, it was announced by elders of the Masjid that Ali would be the new Imam after which he took over responsibility for the West MMZ Masjid.

Ali is also a licensed marriage officer and would offer his services to the general public, as well as to members of the masjid and the Muslim community.

He noted that at the masjid, they have prayer services twice daily and he is a health advocate for non-communicable diseases and received training in that regard and he would give health and hygiene talks every week.