SDC to Launch CDCs in 12 Corporate Area Communities

The Social Development Commission (SDC) will be establishing and reactivating Community Development Committees (CDCs) in 12 communities in Kingston and St. Andrew by the end of March.

Nine of the CDCs are new groups, while the other three are being revived as they had become dormant.

A CDC is the composition of all organisations in a community such as neighbourhood watches, youth clubs, citizens groups, and women’s groups, among others. These are combined into one umbrella group to discuss development issues, make plans and advocate for positive changes within the community.

Parish Manager for the Kingston & St. Andrew office of the SDC, Sandra Goulbourne, told JIS News that the CDCs are important as they represent the interests of citizens.

She said the entities represent an avenue through which citizens can come together to plan and implement projects for the development of their community.

“When a community buys in to the concept, they are consulted in terms of what is to be done, how it is to be done, who is to do it, what are the resources, skills and expertise available in the community … then it will be more sustainable because they are the owners of the process. So development becomes less costly, it is more inclusive and more participatory,” she pointed out.

She noted that the work of the SDC will be to empower the CDCs to take on development planning.

“When communities are equipped with these planning and developmental tools, they have a better chance of sustaining any development that takes place. They see what they are working towards and they [are able to] create a vision for themselves and what they want their community to look like in 20 or so years,” she told JIS News.

The nine communities in which the CDCs will be established are Hughenden/Arlene Gardens, Temple Hall, Rollington Town, Red Hills, Mavis Bank, Maryland, Bito, Bloxburg and Washington Gardens. The three to be revived are Liguanea, Rose Gardens and Port Royal.

The SDC is the principal community development agency, working with over 750 communities islandwide.