Manchester Community Stages New Year’s Get-Together

The Swaby’s Hope community in Manchester, yesterday (January 1), staged a new year’s get-together, with many residents from surrounding districts turning out to participate in several games.
Manager for the South Stars Youth Club, Egbert Walters, told JIS News that the event could help to integrate the communities, and to expose local talent.
“These community events are very important; they bring communities together, and build positive relationships. The host community, Swaby’s Hope, is a very warm community, the people are sensitised in what community spirit should be,” he said.
Lauding the event, Community Development Officer with the Social Development Commission (SDC), Kirk Robinson, said it was the kind of occasion which “provides for friendly rivalry between communities and teams. Four communities came out to engage each other. The vendors benefitted, and it can be an annual event where people can come and enjoy themselves. We at the SDC are pleased with it, and we need to see others come on board and give their support to events like these,” Mr. Robinson emphasised.
Meanwhile, Community Organiser, Martin Thomson, said it was the largest crowd he had seen at a community event in Swaby’s Hope. “We had cricket and netball, with four teams participating. It is clear that everyone enjoyed it. It was more like a family re-union. We had people from all around Manchester, and they saw that people can compete without fighting,” he said.
The event received support and sponsorship from the SDC, and Chairman of the Mandeville Weekly, Anthony Freckleton.