LIME town hall meetings off to good start

Community groups and members of the Barrouallie community met over the weekend with telecommunications provider LIME, to see how they could work hand in hand for the development of the community.{{more}}

On Saturday, the groups met with country manager Leslie Jack and members of the LIME staff at the Barrouallie Community Centre, for the first in a series of town hall meetings, between LIME and communities throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines.

LIME extended its goodwill immediately, as Jack made a commitment on the spot, to provide a number of fans, by the end of this week, to the community centre, which, during last Saturday’s meeting, was unbearably hot. Jack further committed to providing soccer balls to a local youth group by the end of the week as well.

During the event, which was aired live on radio, community leaders shared with Jack areas in which they believe assistance could be given to develop the Central Leeward town.

Speaking on behalf of the Barrouallie Tourism and Heritage Organization, Reynold Francis outlined a number of innovative and exciting projects that the group has planned for the area, which he believes, with the assistance of LIME, would be fruitful.

Francis stated that a five-point plan for community tourism had been developed, and indicated that the installation of street signs at intersections was one of the ventures for which his group is pursuing assistance.

He said that the restoration of the old factory site at Wallilabou and installation of informational signs there, were among the projects to be pursued.

Other innovations include the development of a fitness trail, and the promotion of Barrouallie as a bed and breakfast hub, and a whale watching and sport fishing focal point.

Jack also made a commitment to assist the Barrouallie Technical Institute, whose acting principal, Pearlette Primus-Hannaway, gave examples of things that could be done to make the already progressive institution more successful. She cited the need for a few more chairs, ink and other essentials as immediate needs of the school.

Community group leaders also identified other projects, including restoration work on the century old Barrouallie Anglican Church, a food basket drive for the shut- ins and elderly, assistance for youth groups, and the revival of the Barrouallie Fish Festival as projects that they would like to pursue.

Also making contributions at the meeting were LIME Soca Dans Shaunelle McKenzie and Delroy “Fireman” Hooper, who told the listeners how LIME has helped them with their careers.

The entertainers joined with the community members in commending Jack and LIME for taking the bold step to reach out to the community in a public and inclusive manner. The manager, who reinforced his commitment to working along with the groups, said his team would identify the projects that are most feasible.

He pointed out that in some areas, LIME would partner with other corporate bodies to turn community dreams into reality, and urged them to provide proposals with realistic costs as soon as possible, for the LIME team to move forward.

He said that the event was the first of its kind that his company has embarked on, and he looked forward to the other outings slated to take place, predicting that they would be just as fruitful.

LIME will be at the Owia Government School tomorrow, Saturday, from 4 p.m.