COLLIS Gifth is a resident of Wisroc Village and is the public relations officer for the Community Development Council (CDC) and a volunteer within the community and has the best interest of the people and village at heart.

The 40-year-old stated that he is from Wisroc Old Housing Scheme and that section of Wisroc has been in existence before that and it was formed through an initiative by the villagers through self-help and the coop society.

He reported that the CDC is focused on developing the village, more so to bring relief to the people since many are affected directly by the pandemic which has gripped the world, causing a downward economic spiral.

Gifth added that their aim is to bring immediate relief to villagers since much hasn’t been done to promote development in the community and they are doing so with limited resources.

“We try to reach people directly and find out their immediate needs and how we can assist at a community level, because we know it has been challenging for many for the past year when the novel coronavirus came to these shores,” he said.

Gifth stated that the CDC is looking at creating safe,open spaces for villagers, especially the elderly and children for recreation, sports and relaxation, a safe place where people can go.

He noted that the CDC has a youth arm and a senior citizens’ club, but since the pandemic all activities have been cancelled indefinitely and they do not have any gatherings.

Gifth related that the CDC utilises the skills and knowledge of the elders in the village and they would often engage the youths in skills training such as cake-making, cake decoration, knitting, sewing and cooking.
He told the Pepperpot Magazine that most people in Linden depend heavily on the bauxite industry in the mining town,while others are farmers, are self-employed and public-sector workers.

The timber-marketing consultant and timber grader reported that they are trying to revitalise the Wisroc Coop Society because back in the days, more than 20 years ago, everything in the community evolved around that body.

Gifth disclosed that they want to integrate the self-help culture into the community like olden times under the coop society, especially in the housing drive to foster community development and to introduce the youths to the self-help initiative.

He added that Wisroc is a thriving community in which a lot was done despite challenges and limited resources and they are trying to fast-track infrastructural development in the village, especially in the new phases where basic things must be done.

“This is a quiet place to reside and I grew up in the Old Housing Scheme and was always involved in self-help as a boy with my family, so I know the value of it and it has remained a part of me and that’s why I became a volunteer and will always advocate for self-help projects in the village,” he said.

Onita Harry — the spritely volunteer and teacher
The Pepperpot Magazine also met another villager, Onita Harry, the assistant headteacher for the Wisroc Nursery School, assistant treasurer for the Community Policing Group and Secretary for the Community Development Group.

Harry has been a resident of Wisroc for the past 42 years and spent 23 years in the teaching profession.

When the team met her she was engaged in making decorations for a baby shower for a fellow teacher, who is expecting and the other teachers were also present to assist.

Inside the Wisroc Nursery School.

“Teaching has been my goal since I was young, so I worked hard to attain the position I am in today and I am teaching at the same nursery school I attended as a child, but it was at a different location back then,” she said.

Harry reported that the new Wisroc Nursery School was constructed in 1997 and she supervises eight teachers, who go to school three times per week to mark worksheets and do other things. The Wisroc Nursery School has eight teachers and four auxiliary staff members and the building is well-kept with organised classrooms and a lot of interactive concepts to engage the children.

Harry stated that she would also make herself available at her home for face-to-face classes with children in different groups during the weekdays because some parents have reached out to her for help.

It is free of cost and she would interact with seven children but at different occasions, and has all the sanitising aspects in place where face masks and hand-washing are mandatory. Harry is also a Sunday school teacher at her church, Faith Assembly of God and does some volunteering there as well.

The Pepperpot Magazine met an auxiliary staff member of Wisroc Nursery School, Bernadette Foster, a very straightforward woman, who clearly enjoys her job at the school. She did not want to be photographed, but is very chatty and can give an accurate account of the history of the village and school.

Foster revealed that the Old Wisroc Housing Scheme was established in 1975.