Good to see this happening in Guyana!

Aug 29, 2013 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

There are hundreds of thousands of persons who want to be involved in things that help their communities, their Regions and their country. They do not necessarily want to join any political process but they will support and get involved in initiatives that benefit others, no matter how small these may be.
This past weekend, motorists travelling throughout the Coastland witnessed small pockets of young people engaged in pedestrian painting exercises. This is an activity that is usually done by the traffic authority and questions were asked as to why the young people doing the work did not venture into some other activity.
They did not, because they wanted to help out the authorities and this is highly commendable on the part of the members of the Progressive Youth Organization, the youth arm of the ruling People’s Progressive Party. The young people wanted to be involved and they were given that opportunity even though there must have been concerns as to the quality of the work which could result.
In the end, a good job was done and the fears allayed. The young people were given a chance to become involved. This is something that should be encouraged not just for young people but also for adults.
There are many persons who like to sit back and complain. There are others, who noticing there is a problem, seek to fix it. The pedestrian crossings were not a problem but the young people nevertheless decided that they would repaint them, thus sparing the traffic authorities of this task. We need much more of this type of activity throughout Guyana because while everyone may not want to get involved in political battles as to who should be doing what, the majority of Guyanese would like to play a greater role in the development of their country but they are afraid that in our bifurcated political culture they would be branded as either government or opposition, depending on the stand they take.
However, by involving themselves in small scale initiatives such as road signs painting, persons can become involved without attracting the stigmas about which side they support. In the case of last weekend, the young people were from the Progressive Youth Organization but they were doing a good cause and they should be supported.
Not everyone of course can paint a straight line. Nor is it practical for hundreds of persons to come out to paint a zebra crossing but citizens can become involved by providing paint and brushes to community groups and youth organizations.
In New York City, there is actually a program in which the Mayor’s Office provides assistance to community groups and organizations that wish to clean their communities of graffiti. This sort of thing is needed in Guyana and is one of the initiatives that should be supported by the various Municipalities. They should encourage community groups to become involved by offering to them supplies of paint and brushes with the groups providing the labour and other supplies.
There will be great savings for the various Municipalities, the towns will end up looking better and more importantly, citizens will feel more involved and want to do more.
A coat of paint can make a world of difference to the outlook of communities and to the national mood. There are so many public facilities in Guyana that are in need of a fresh coat of paint. Improving the physical environment in towns and villages will also help to reduce crime and vagrancy. People will feel better about themselves and there will be less littering, and all because of a coat of paint.
There are many public facilities that are in need of repainting. Instead of them having to go out to tender, small paint jobs could be undertaken by youth groups and citizens associations.
There is a need also for road signs, including stop signs and no parking signs. This is work that need not wait on the traffic authorities. They can be undertaken by citizens’ groups and they can make a world of difference to life in Guyana. A great deal can be done by involving people in these small-scale community activities.

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Good to see this happening in Guyana!

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