Community day of service

On the day designated by the government as “National Community Day of Service”, more than 46 individuals from the community turned out to lend their support to efforts to rehabilitate the road leading from the highway to the bay side commonly known as “Batty Bay”.
The road, which is used by sea bathers, basketballers, fishermen, and mourners had been in a deplorable state due to wear and tear, and water damage. The culverts, which were intended to prevent the flow of water over the road had for a long time remained blocked, as a result, forcing water to flow over the road. All of this was compounded by the excess growth of shrubbery along the sides of the road, making access to the area increasingly difficult.

Earlier in the year, citing this need, the Salisbury Enhancement Committee applied through Local Government for materials to fix the road on community day of service. Although there were a few hiccups in that process, in the end, they provided the committee with 18 cu yds of tarish, and 30 bags of cement.

Early on Tuesday the 4th of November, men, women and children could be seen gathering at the lowest point in the village awaiting the commencement of work. Fishermen, DACA Men, construction workers, church leaders, community members and visiting Dominicans were all on hand to assist with the project. It was a valiant effort by all involved to see this project come to pass.

Chairman of SEC, Curth Charles, as he was being interviewed by the outside broadcast team of DBS Radio said he was extremely impressed with the turn out of workers from the community. He also hailed the women from the community who had provided snacks and water to the working men. Starnie Jno Jules and Silma Luke had willingly left their homes to carry juice, bakes, fried plaintain, and water, Starnie making several trips herself. Nurse Rachael Bowers provided the members of S.E.C with a special codfish lunch. Yummm!!


As the men worked, it became increasingly clear that this was by no means a one-day project, this being made even more obvious when the 30 bags donated by Local Government were all consumed. One village group lent 15 additional bags of cement to assist in the completion of the project. Still, at the end of the work day, when all the cement, and tarish had been used, the project was only 30% complete. The workers, being enthusiastic explained that they would be more than willing to return to complete the project on a subsequent day.


On the other side of the road, young people from the Catholic Church could be seen weeding, planting flowers and painting structures on the outside of the church building. Further in, at the bayside, the Salisbury Girls Guides were working hard on their own beach clean up efforts. As a result of their work, six bags of garbage was collected along the beach.
In other parts of the community, other projects were being pursued. There were also projects on one of the back roads near the highway and still another in the center of the village where a major drain was being constructed.


All in all, the community spirit on that day was something that has been sorely missed. As one worker put it, “long time we doh see something like dat!” Many volunteers on the site hoped that this would not be the last show of such solidarity in a community that has been well known for its fiercely independent and progressive spirit