SDC to Carry out Interventions in St. Catherine Communities

Social Development Commission (SDC) Executive Director, Dr. Dwayne Vernon, says the agency will be carrying out community interventions in St. Catherine during the new year.

He noted that areas such as Thompson Pen and March Pen in Spanish Town will be given priority. He said that a meeting will be held with residents of March Pen in late December to chart the way forward for the community.

“We want to intensify the approach in the March Pen area, specifically, to try and get the community back to a level of stability and address challenges they are facing. The challenges will be what they tell us they are and not what we tell them,” Dr. Vernon pointed out.

He said interventions will also be carried out in communities in Portmore.

The SDC Head was speaking in an interview with JIS News at the seventh annual staging of the St. Catherine Community Incentives and Grants Programme (CIPG) Awards Ceremony at the Caymanas Golf and Country Club in the parish on December 5.

Vice President of Community Service and Development, University of Technology (UTech), Professor Rosalea Hamilton, in her presentation on building community businesses, said the public sector has a key role to play in ensuring the sustainability of these operations.

“If our public servants have more ubuntu (compassion and humanity) they would think differently about how they interact with the public and businesses at large. They can help facilitate the growth of businesses,” she said.

During the function, a number of individuals and organisations were recognised for their contrition to community development.

Among the awardees are Philando Stephenson from Keystone for Outstanding Youth Leader; Janet Cornwall from Golden Acres, Outstanding Community Volunteer; Portmore Self-Help Disability Organization, which received the Local Economic Development and Support Programme (LEDSP) award; while the Parish Manager’s award went to National Integrity Action.

The CIPG is the framework for the distribution of all incentives and grants emanating from the various core actions of the SDC. The programme seeks to bolster community participation in developmental activities through rewards and incentives.