SINT MAARTEN (SIMPSON BAY) – Even as the campaign season carries on around them, the Party for Progress has been working diligently on two projects that are near and dear to the candidates’ hearts. TURF (The United Recycling Front), as the Party’s community clean-up initiative, focuses on engaging communities to keep their neighborhoods and districts clean. The project, which is in collaboration with Meadowlands B.V., has been hosted twice since their launch with the first event taking place in Cay Hill and the second, in St. Peter’s. The latter was one of the Party’s stops on its Path to Postulation tour, prior to November 21st, an event that inspired the Party’s second project initiative.
“After the official part of our meeting,” candidate number 4, Raeyhon Peterson explains, “we were outside with some attendees and we kept hearing a basketball on the court. Some neighborhood boys were playing, in the dark. We spoke to some of the young men gathered at the community center and they told us that no one had been by to check the lights. We had an internal discussion with the candidates and members, and decided to see if we could help.”
PFP’s overall vision is improving quality of life for all on St. Maarten; this includes public spaces such as community courts and playgrounds that are well-maintained and secure. The Party consulted with the director of NSI (the National Sports Institute), Mr. Mike Cornet, and the relevant community members to discover what was needed to at least restore the lights at the St. Peter’s basketball court. With this in mind, PFP spoke to several companies that had offered donations to the campaign and shared their idea: PFP would act as facilitator between NSI and the companies, bringing them together to begin repairs to the court lights instead of contributing to the PFP campaign.
“After our Path to Postulation tour meeting in Simpson Bay, it was revealed that the community court there had no working lights either,” states Party Leader, Melissa Gumbs. “We expanded the project to include the Simpson Bay court and repairs there are currently underway. Finalization for the restoration of lights to the St. Peter’s court is still pending; the damage to its electrical system is significant, so it’s not just about installing some new lights, contrary to popular belief. We prefer that the job is done properly rather than hastily for a nice photo op or video.”
At the Party’s launch in September 2019, they talked about the design of their logo, which is two interlocking Ps that stand for People and Partnership, the foundation on which a nation is built. While some may spend their party or personal funds on such a project during this time, PFP believes that this approach to ‘fixing’ the issues in the communities has to stop, as it is not sustainable for long-term maintenance and development.
“We have become accustomed to elections being the time to fix things,” Peterson stated. “A quick coat of paint or patch of asphalt during this time when people are vulnerable, and that’s it. PFP’s plan is to act as a facilitator between entities to execute projects such as the court repairs. No gimmick, no publicity stunt. The NSI is responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of these courts, but it appears that they’re not receiving the assistance needed. We’re happy to forego some campaign funds, in the interest of moving this project forward.”
Alongside the facilitation of the court repairs, PFP’s TURF project will focus on engaging the community members, especially those who use the court, to keep it and the surrounding area clean, to ensure a consistently safe, healthy and fun environment for the neighborhood. TURF is the brainchild of PFP’s number 5 candidate, Marvio Cooks, who developed the concept and initiated the collaboration with Meadowlands BV. Persons interested in TURF can contact PFP for its clean-up schedule via its Facebook page, Party for Progress St. Maarten.
Source: Souliga Newsday https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com-k2&view=item&id=28960:pfp-facilitation,-collaboration-at-heart-of-turf-and-court-projects&Itemid=504
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