Rose Garden Community Centre renovated with support from Carreras Ltd, Project STAR

The Rose Garden Community Centre, which, in its heyday, brought the community together, was renovated recently by residents with support from Project STAR and Carreras Limited.

Residents of Rose Garden came out in full force, rolling up their sleeves and dedicating their time and effort to restore the centre to its former glory. Their hard work was complemented by the two organisations which have made a commitment to community development and empowerment.

Myshka Allen, project officer for east downtown Kingston at Project STAR, said the centre was selected by the Rose Garden Community Transformation Board because of its potential to reunite the community.

“This is a space that has a lot of potential, but is underutilised because of the crime that spiked in the area three to five years ago. So, previously, we had church services, crusades, birthday parties. It was heavily used, but because of the crime, it was abandoned,” she informed.

Allen said the intention is to restore the centre and use it to reintegrate the community. She said the work on the centre started with a beautification project, which was done on Labour Day but the vision is to transform the centre into a computer lab as well as a venue that community members can use for their events.

“We hope that, through those initiatives, the community can integrate again. So, this project is not just a painting project, it is a social project because, going forward, we are going to be rebranding the space as a central space in Rose Garden,” she said.

Residents expressed their joy and gratitude for being part of the Labour Day activity.

“What happened today [on Labour Day] has not happened in four years, as in persons from different communities not coming together because of the gang violence,” said Julia Blackwood, a community member and member of the Rose Garden Community Transformation Board.

“It has been a tragedy. What has happened over the years and what we are seeing now are persons you have not seen in years coming together as one. What Project STAR is doing in terms of bringing us together is more than welcomed.”

Carreras Limited contributed both funding and volunteers to ensure the success of the renovation.

“We love to give back to the community as part of our social responsibility. We partnered with Project STAR because of the work it does. At the end of the day, we are trying to build a better tomorrow for everyone, and that is what we hope to achieve through this activity today,” said Franklin Murillo, managing director of Carreras Limited.

Imega Breese-McNab, corporate affairs manager at Carreras Limited and member of the board of STAR Foundation, said Carreras was pleased to be part of the initiative.

“Carreras believes in social interventions. We believe in environmental management, and we are pleased to be a legacy donor of Project STAR for the last two years, something that we will continue to support,” she said.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force was also on hand to support the project. Deputy Superintendent of Police Eucal Francis, assigned to the Kingston Central Police Division, said the Labour Day activities were a good initiative to unite the community.

“This initiative allows persons to traverse boundaries and get out of their comfort zone because if this type of environment is not created for persons to come and ‘chit chat’ and talk over things then you are going to still have tension,” he pointed out.