SILVER City, Wismar, Linden, has a basketball court/football space with a pavilion, and it is a safe place that is utilised by the community for both sports and other social activities.

It serves as a recreational area that is fenced, and in the afternoons, the locals would visit to play games and host other undertakings.

Regional Democratic Council (RDC) Councillor, Donna Perry, who is also a resident, told the Pepperpot Magazine that this facility was there when she settled in the village in 1995.

She noted that maintenance works had been done for the general upkeep of the place ever so often.

Perry added that the Silver City basketball court is the place where football is also played.

Members of the community would donate towards repairs for the place, which is a well-maintained basketball court/football space.

Perry disclosed that residents are responsible for cleaning the place, and she is not sure how they got the plot, which was just sand-filled when she first settled in the village.

She reported that over time the facility was developed, the sand-filled plot was replaced with concrete, and it was fenced.

Later, donations were given for a wooden pavilion to be erected with a shed, and the place became more established.

Perry added that often they would take money out of their own pockets to do repairs, and she replaced a breaker recently, which was damaged, so the facility could get safe electricity.

The councillor stated that many games are played there, it is a busy place mostly in the afternoons, and people would gather there to socialise and engage in various recreational activities.

She related that schoolchildren and others would also visit to host events there, and when villagers have a death in the community, the space is used for wakes.

Perry disclosed that the pavilion is in a state of disrepair, and there is a need to construct a new one.

She is hoping to garner funds to undertake that project and welcomes partnership for the community-based project.

Perry revealed that at the entrance of Victory Valley, they had a community centre building, but mysteriously, three years ago, a fire ripped through the entire structure.

When the dust settled, there was nothing left except debris, and it is still unknown who or what caused the inferno.

She is of the view that a new community centre should be built for skills training for the many out-of-jobs young people in the community.

Perry noted that young people in other villages could also benefit, so they can be empowered to lead meaningful lives by becoming self-employed.

“There is an urgent need for such an undertaking because the young people are simply wasting away, doing things they ought not to because they cannot find work in Linden,” she said.

Perry told the Pepperpot Magazine that if the young people gain skills, they can begin working from right out of their homes and can become gainfully employed and contribute to society.