Spring Garden Community Receives Awards in National B.E.S.T. Competition

The community of Spring Garden in St. Thomas, was awarded cash prizes totalling some $250,000, after finishing in the top three of the National BEST (Better Environment for Social Transformation) Community Competition for 2007.
The community won $100,000.00 for placing third at the national level, and $50,000.00 each for copping the categories of: Best Kept Educational Institution, Best Community Spirit, and Best Cultural and Heritage Programme at the parish level.
A cheque in the sum of $50,000, representing one of the sectional prizes was, on September 18, handed over to the Spring Garden Citizens’ Association, at an awards ceremony at the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Spring Garden, St Thomas. The cheque was presented to the Association’s Chairperson, Millicent Henry, by Ishiwawa Hope, Community Development Planning and Project Manager, for the Social Development Commission’s (SDC) Region 1.
Speaking at the ceremony, SDC Community Development Officer, Oswald Wilkie, said the community has commenced preparations for the 2008 competition, for which the submission of entries close in December 2008. Judging, he informed, will take place from January to March 2009 at the parish, and national levels.
“For this year, the community has entered all categories, and is working assiduously to see if they could win this year,” he said.
Mr. Wilkie advised that a meeting was scheduled to be held with the Association’s executive members to determine the “action plan” for this year’s competition.
In her remarks, Ms. Henry said the competition had helped to motivate residents of Spring Garden, who are now involved in community activities.
“We are looking forward to achieving great things in this year’s competition through the completion of all our projects, including our farming project,” she informed.
She said the Association will also be working towards the successful implementation of upcoming development activities such as the Fun Day and Gospel Concert at the Spring Garden Primary School, Road Maintenance Project, Heritage Week, Paul Bogle Week, and the Education and Welfare Programme.
In bringing greetings, Miss Hope commended the members of the Association, for playing a meaningful role in the development of their community.
“This truly exemplifies the type of work that we do with communities. We work towards empowering communities to take action. We see that the Spring Garden community had been very dedicated to what they had submitted in the Best Community Competition,” she said.
Miss Hope noted that, often, some community members complain about the lack of opportunities, and pointed out that the Association has shown that “something is going on, and they can achieve what goals they have set.”
The Best Community Competition, which was launched in November 2006, aims to encourage self reliance by communities, and seeks to instill a sense of pride, values and attitudes, and self worth among residents.