Dear Editor,
Thank you for allowing this humble message to be sent to the Bahamian people by way of your daily.
When general elections are imminent, it always gives reason for pause and reflection on the state of the country and its perspectives for the future. Undoubtedly, there are some dismal feelings about the current state of affairs in our beloved country. We are still battling high incidents of violent crime, not only in the capital, but also on the island of the nation's second city. In New Providence and its capital Nassau, as well as in Freeport and Grand Bahama on the whole, unemployment continues to loom. The recent layoffs of Sandals workers only helps to add to the fear of many other service industry workers throughout the archipelago.
Eight Mile Rock, Grand Bahama, is no exception. With its high percentage of young persons in its population, Eight Mile Rock represents a settlement teeming with great possibilities, yet seemingly forgotten somewhere in the thrust to improve the lives of Bahamians. A drive through this settlement proves this point as you see far too many buildings simply abandoned, far too many young persons idle and far too few activities and opportunities for them.
A concerted effort to remember the vision for a prosperous Eight Mile Rock could yield a better way of life for its residents, and augment the assets of The Bahamas on the whole. It's settlements like these that are in desperate need of, and deserve, specific attempts to improve their infrastructure and provide them with every opportunity to become a more viable contributors to the Bahamian economy.
For example, a community like Eight Mile Rock would benefit greatly from the investment of a manufacturing plant, producing products of native raw materials. It would employ thousands of Bahamians from this and surrounding settlements.
Eight Mile Rock is also ripe for a technical and vocational institute. As it stands, when Eight Mile Rock students graduate from high school they must take the bus to Freeport in order to continue studies. If parents are unable to fund the frequent bus trips, the funds needed for essentials being so far from home in the day, and other variables, students find themselves having to drop out of college.
There are countless cases existing in the community today. These are bright minds that we should not allow to go to waste or be lost in the myriad of problems that face young people with little to no opportunities. Every child and young adult should be afforded the right to have access to free quality education. This resilient settlement has hundreds of young people who could fill the seats of a vocational and technical institute right now and in a short period of time, through diligence, determination and support from society at large, could become certified in highly needed skills to benefit their community and country.
Our settlement could become a model for the rest of the country - showing what can happen when we invest in our young people and create opportunities for them to excel. There are too few opportunities for high school graduates in Eight Mile Rock and the entire West End, Grand Bahama. We don't have to pull far for examples of what these dynamic young Bahamians can do. This is a year of extreme pride for Eight Mile Rock as we laud the victories of our hometown youth: Chavano "Buddy" Hield and Jonquel Jones - both committed in the first round of NBA and WNBA drafts respectfully, this year.
An "Eight Mile Rock Revitalization Program" would greatly assist in the rebirth of this great settlement, designed to be a model for others throughout the country. Take the young people off the streets from being idle and provide them with more education and skills training, more social programs to address teenage pregnancy and social ills, and provide them with employment. Our settlement is in dire need of this kind of revitalization to ensure the success of the next generation. With proper planning, Eight Mile Rock could become attractive to foreign investors for a variety of projects. Just imagine: first-class roads, state-of-the-art modern government buildings, proper street signs and lights along the adequate handicap facilities in public and private areas.
It would bode well for our community if the powers that be consider an aggressive redevelopment program to commence immediately. The community could be better serviced by the government facilities in Eight Mile Rock. There are so many abandoned buildings along the front road in the settlement that the government should consider acquiring some of these buildings in order to create new facilities to provide proper and modern services to residents.
Many government facilities are not even along the highway. Residents, after arriving at the bus stop, must take a seven- to 10-minute walk to arrive at some facilities. This can pose an issue in the event of rain, or if a pregnant woman or elderly individual must make this trek.
Take the police station for example - not on the main highway. And, even this building is in need of better accommodations for the officers to work in in order to properly execute their duties. The force's crime issues could be adequately addressed by a revitalization program. Eventually, this would lead to officers being able to implement more community building programs, fostering a better relationship with residents. This, again, is a recipe for making this settlement a model for all others.
If government facilities are refurbished and updated, it could employ hundreds of Eight Mile Rock residents. Many of them are very talented and skilled in areas such as masonry, carpentry, steel and finish work. However, many of them do not have the necessary qualifications on paper to prove/support their qualifications (thus, the benefit of a technical and vocational college in the settlement). Therefore, many of them are in the communities unable to get the kind of construction contracts they deserve; with the required proof of qualifications they may be offered these contracts, including government jobs. If they are the ones assigned to rebuild their own community, it would help to boost the sense of pride and ownership that they have in their settlement.
We could start with the administrator's building, the police and fire station, courts, social services, local government offices, the post office, schools, etc. In the primary and high schools, students are starving for more creative teaching methods and teachers are deserving of a better environment to influence the minds of the next generation. They are hard-working, underpaid teachers who deserve to be afforded with adequate spaces dedicated to departing and receiving knowledge.
A vigorous after-school program would greatly benefit the students. Teachers are too often dipping into personal funds to ensure that extra-curricular activities, school events and presentations; and sometimes even school lunch is provided for the many students who are in obvious need. The students are also in desperate need of more access to guaranteed tertiary education.
We need more Hields and Joneses going into universities worldwide and making an indelible mark. These kinds of initiatives would boost the morale of the community and turn it around for the better. These are achievable dreams and the community must be involved in the decision-making process. There was a time when I was a young boy, sitting behind one of those school desks in Eight Mile Rock holding on to big dreams about my future.
As I continue to excel in my personal career, I cannot help but reflect on my humble beginnings in this unique settlement and ponder on the many young children who are still going through the same thing. I could not continue excelling without attempting to make sure that opportunities like those provided for me are available to our stars of tomorrow. It is my opinion that considering just the sheer size of Eight Mile Rock, the government should consider these suggestions. We have in good numbers the greatest resource we need to ensure that these projects are successful - people. These are a resilient people who have overcome the hardships of Out Island living thus far. It sits poised for a boost to its economy and community pride.
- Joshua C. Forbes
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