Sports Event to Build Unity in Areas along Red Hills Road

The Social Development Commission (SDC) has partnered with the St. Andrew North Police Division, and Ministers’ Fraternal, to stage a grand sports day for residents of communities in and around the 100 Lane area of Red Hills Road on March 3.

The event was officially launched on Saturday Feb. 11 at the Hillside Christian Church, 105k Red Hills Road, with a number of officials expected to attend.

Dubbed, the ‘Red Hills Road Comm-Unity 2012 Sports Initiative,’ the one-day event, slated for the Hughenden Community Centre, will see residents from 100 Lane, Donmair, Park Lane and 85 Red Hills Road, participating in a range of sporting disciplines. These include: football, netball, basketball and athletics.

They will vie for trophies and medals, which will be presented to the winners and runners-up at the end of the day.  

The day’s activities will be preceded by a colourful parade of teams into the sporting venue, with their banners displayed. The procession will be led by a marching band.

According to the SDC, the initiative aims to foster unity among the participating communities, which, once at odds, are enjoying a sustained period of relative peace and camaraderie. It also seeks to break down existing barriers to enable residents to interact freely, using sports as a catalyst, and thereby improving relations among the stakeholders.

The SDC informs that, as a pre-cursor to the event’s staging, the agency and other stakeholders held a number of planning meetings with the leadership of community-based organizations (CBOs) in the four districts.

In addition, a number of behaviour modification workshops were held for children, adolescents and young adults, along with parenting workshops.

The Comm-Unity Sports Initiative is intended to be an annual event, with the Red Hills Road Community Development Committee to be established to lead the effort.

By Douglas McIntosh, JIS Reporter