Community Projects – Actualisation of Manley’s Concept of Self Reliance Says PM Golding

The community of Woodford, in St. Andrew, has won the 9th Annual Michael Manley Award for Community Self-Reliance, for their Homework and Learning Centre Project.
Woodford was declared the winner from a field of seven community projects yesterday ( Friday, August 1), at the Ninth Annual Awards ceremony put on by the Michael Manley Foundation at the Little Theatre and which was addressed by Prime Minister Bruce Golding.
Mr. Golding said the community projects represent an actualisation of Michael Manley’s concept of self-reliance, as they were initiatives mounted by people who believed in themselves and who have demonstrated that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. He said that all the projects short-listed for the competition originated from rural Jamaica, and points to a situation in which community self-reliance was facing a serious challenge from rapid urbanisation.
Mr. Golding said that while urbanisation undoubtedly had it rewards, the downside is that many areas are in danger of losing their sense of community, as some no longer provide a frame of reference within which relationships are formed or identities grounded and values derived.
“It no longer defines a particular culture, or way of life. Where we live must be more than a place, it must mean something. It must be an experience to be cherished and preserved, an experience on which we depend and to which we contribute,” he said.
Mr. Golding said the seven short-listed projects and the communities in which they were developed, have shown that community development can be achieved and that the benefits rest not just with the projects themselves, but are evident in the social cohesion and institutional capacity building. He said there were important lessons to be learnt from the Woodford Homework and Learning Centre Project and the others that were entered in the competition. He urged the Michael Manley Foundation, to study and document the modalities of these projects, in order to create a template that could be applied to other areas.
Mr. Golding said he welcomed the invitation to address the awards ceremony, adding that both the invitation and his acceptance, represent the maturing evolution of Jamaica’s politics. He said Michael Manley recognised the importance of the people and sought ways to mobilise and challenge them to think and reason, and to be aware of their dignity, self-worth and potential.
The Woodford Homework and Learning Centre Project received $200,000 and a trophy for emerging the winner. The winning community project was selected based on its impact on the community, the degree of local control by community members and sustainability of the project.