COMMUNITY WITH WARRIOR SPIRIT GETS REFURBISHED CENTRE
New Village, Point Fortin is situated in the southwestern peninsula of Trinidad, in the County of St. Patrick and the Borough of Point Fortin. It is bounded in the north by Egypt Village, south by Cap-de-Ville Southern Main Road, the east by Salazar Trace and the west by Warden Road.
New Village, Point Fortin has a rich history, starting as “Strikers Village”, a name given in tribute to the status of its residents as a mark of respect for their struggles in 1947, when the strike in the oil belt was broken and thousands of Butler supporters were out of work. These persons were squatters occupying government lands in Point Fortin, who were forced to relocate to this community. Today, its population is approximately six thousand (6,000) persons, comprising mainly immigrants from Grenada, St. Vincent, and Caricou.
On Tuesday 20th, March, 2018, Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts formally rededicated the Community Centre to the community of New Village.
His Worship Abdon Mason during his address said that he can see the warrior spirit of the community and has noted their hard work, contributions and sacrifices to make the community what it is today. He said, “my desire is that you appreciate it for what it is, let this be the catalyst for the development of this community, let this be the launching pad of the great things that will take place in Point Fortin, we are going to transform Trinidad but the transformation of Trinidad is going to start with Point Fortin and the transformation will begin with New Village”. He also encourage the community to use this space to the best interest and benefit of their community.
In her feature address, Dr. the Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, quoted from Her Excellency, Paula-Mae Weekes, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago inauguration speech, “Being a light does not necessitate grand schemes or accomplishments. A flickering candle can be as effective as a blazing bushfire in the right environment”. She also said, “be a light in your community, care for your environment, be tolerant of views, beliefs and practices of others, re-imagine and re-engineer the village that it takes to raise today’s children”. The Minister also took the opportunity to encourage persons to love their community as well as the persons around them. She also told those gathered, “the individual responsibility of all citizens to devote ourselves to the improvement of our communities by our acts of service, whether small or large, that fuel the flame of community development. We all have a light with which we can brighten the corners, where we are”.
During the ceremony, the audience was entertained by Mrs. Denika Andrews-Hodge through song and young Ms. Naomi Nedd through a monologue. Two of the communities oldest members were also honoured 100 year old Alban Munroe and Patricia Reneaud who is 101.
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Corporate Communications Unit
Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts
624-5004 Ext. 5145 / 5140