Chester Cottage gets $300,000 Resource Centre

With 17 flat screen computers in a lab, a kitchenette complete with a fridge and stove, bathrooms and a hall complete with furniture provided at a total cost of some $300,000, Prime Minister and area representative for North Central Windward, Dr Ralph Gonsalves opened the Chester Cottage Community Learning Resource Centre last Tuesday.

Addressing the opening, Dr Gonsalves boasted that nothing was too good for the people of this country and stressed that he had no intention of just “repairing” the once dilapidated facility but knew that he had to completely upgrade the centre into a first class facility.{{more}}

“We are not building anything that look like a cattle pen, never in a million years! Sometimes they say that I am too ambitious, but if you don’t have ambition what would happen to you? When you see this facility you have to say that this government respects you and you have to respect this property,” he stated.

The area representative said not only can the facility host wedding receptions, religious functions, graduations and classes in adult literacy, but students who are studying for CXC and preparing their School Based Assessment SBA assignments could research and prepare their work in the state of the art, soon-to-be-internet-ready computer lab.

He declared, “They have some worthless men walking ‘bout the street who would interfere with your girl children when they come home late from the library. But now your girl children can come home in the village and get something warm to drink, settle they head and come to the Community Learning Centre to do their work.”

The Prime Minister however expressed disappointment that there was not more space in the vicinity to put a hard court for the young people to engage in sports, but said that it could probably be put in the front of the building and also expressed plans to construct a small store room which would increase the cost of the facility by some $50,000.

Dr Gonsalves said by 2010 he hoped to build 21 community and learning resource centres throughout the state and that 17 had already been built or were near completion.