The Community Development Village
Patron: Clive LLoyd OR CCH CBE

The Community Development Village will consists of 15 different structures:

1) Administrative Complex –This will be the first structure to be erected since its main function will be to coordinate the establishment of the Village over the next five years.

2) Convention Centre – this is to be constructed at an estimated sum of $68 Million. The Centre will be multi–purpose in nature since it will be the hub of programme implementation for large meetings, exhibitions and official ceremonies.

3) A state-of-the-art kitchen is to be constructed with an effective/responsive catering service. This area will cater for the various dietary needs of the occupants of all the different buildings in the compound and for the diverse range of daily activities. These will include hiring of facilities for social needs, cultural presentations, training programmes, hotel requirements, daily needs of staff and visitors, as well as catering for various meetings and training sessions that require living arrangements for a period of time.

4) Skills Training Centre will cater for non–traditional areas of involvement:

• Carpentry and joinery
• Welding and fabrication
• Masonry and brick laying
• Electrical installation
• Garment making
• Designing and Interior Decoration
• Estimation, management and construction of buildings and consultancy
• Craft production
• Information Technology

Young men and women will be exposed to the development of a skill and will have the unique opportunity to be exposed to actual construction and implementation of about 12 buildings. After training, they will participate in the construction of the buildings in the Village.

For some it will mean full-time employment after training. Others will have on-the-job training; some will be retained as staff members; most will move on to self-employment, while on the long-term basis, St. Francis will develop its own construction firm for execution of projects and external works/project.

Several donors are ready to fund this project since it offers the following:-

• skills training opportunities
• job creation
• practical knowledge in a professional environment
• remedial classes and training
• reduced cost to construct buildings in Village
• reduction in the number of unproductive young people and therefore a decrease in negative social issues
• creation of an interactive community for our local population with various activities in the Village.

5) Musical Development Centre – this section will consist of:

(a) a steel band which was acquired by St. Francis through UNICEF. Thirty young people have already been identified for this unique and innovative training. The band is currently in storage due to paucity of physical space.

(b) the development of a choir to accompany the band at public events.

(c) the establishment of a Drama School which will assist in the development of the raw and hidden talents of Guyanese. Our culture is affected everyday by television shows which have a negative effect on our society. There is a pressing need to address the loss of our culture and the Musical Development Centre will do just that.
Funding is in the process of being utilised to implement this project but there is a need for a building to house the centre to ensure its growth and further development. UNICEF has invested in this development of music, art and drama as a means of harnessing our youth’s true potential.

6) Hotel and Living Quarters – These buildings will be constructed to facilitate 50 self-contained rooms to serve the needs of persons who will be involved in the project’s two-week residential training programmes. Several factors will influence the full utilisation of this complex:-

(a) on the Corentyne, there is no hotel or living-in accommodation for the visitors, donors, tutors, consultants and students who will be on attachment or on a visit to the Village.

(b) the Village will be offering training on a residential basis and two Regional Organisations have pledged their support. These are the Commonwealth Youth Programme, Caribbean Centre and the CARICOM Secretariat – Youth Desk.

(c) St. Francis entertains scores of donors on a monthly basis but the group currently utilises hotels in New Amsterdam – some 15 miles away - for their overnight visits.

(d) the Village’s diverse activities will ensure the full utilisation of the hotel.

Therefore, this will be a major source of income for St. Francis and will assist to greatly reduce its overhead costs. The hotel will generate business for the Group’s craft shop, catering service, taxi service, research and development/consultancy business, printing/photo copying service, social services and music section. It will also provide publicity for St. Francis on a daily basis.

7) Caretaker Quarters – The size of the Village and the volume of work to be executed on a daily basis requires the full-time services of a caretaker. The Village plans to erect two family homes for caretakers and family.

This will make the job package more attractive to ensure St. Francis retains staff and prevent loss of our valuables. We will be guaranteed 24-four presence in the Village Complex.

8) Classrooms – The classrooms will be constructed for all major training programmes to be conducted on a daily basis. St. Francis will be offering training on a variety of subjects:

(a) remedial business Math and English

(b) small business development

(c) community empowerment

(d) sustainability

(e) community development and organising

(f) 10 skills training areas from food preparation, hospitality to catering which will be done by the Carnegie School of Home Economics.

(g) professional counselling training

(h) classroom training for youths in carpentry/joinery, masonry/ brick laying, welding and electrical installation

(i) St. Francis’ own staff development and training

(j) Project identification, documentation and implementation.

(k) St. Francis offers more than 40 different areas of funding and same can be offered on request from beneficiaries.

(l) remedial classes for under-privileged children in the evening and a place to study free from domestic interference

9) Social Life Centre – On March 7, 2003, St. Francis completed a new building with funding from the Canada Fund and UNICEF. Today, this new building caters for the new and expanded St. Francis activities such as:-

(a) Coordinating Office

(b) Finance Department

(c) Micro-Credit Scheme

(d) Public Restaurant

(e) Family, Youth, and Children at Risk Centre

(f) Food for the Poor Centre for the Corentyne

(g) Skills Training Centre for sewing, cooking, catering, remedial classes etc

The Family, Youth and Children at Risk Centre offers several services which now require more space for operation. These services are:-

(a) independent counselling offices for our four counsellors

(b) a VCT Centre for our voluntary counselling and testing for HIV

(c) a resource library on health-related issues

(d) a Family and Children at Risk office for depressed families

(e) a LAN Administrator’s office to coordinate all out-station IT development

(f) a training area

(g) an internet café

(h) an income generating area being funded by the British High Commission

(i) a waiting area and video room for viewing educational cassettes

(j) a reception area with switchboard, receptionist and condom-vending machine

(k) youth-friendly space

The demand for these services renders the current site too small, so it is St. Francis’ wish to relocate it in the Village to a two-story building dealing only with social and health issues.

10) Power Generation Plant – The Canadian High Commissioner, who is a friend of St. Francis, has indicated a personal interest in the development of the Village. He has pledged his Mission’s funding to help acquire alternative energy sources in the form of solar and wind energy.

St. Francis will be able to acquire the technology and utilise it for the full developmental needs of the Village.

11) Distribution Centre – St. Francis currently distributes items such as furniture, foodstuff, building materials, school supplies etc. for Food for the Poor and the Guyana Relief Council.

There are several demands from overseas-based organisations and international relief groups to operate out of Guyana, but they need a base and a local contact organisation. St. Francis is ready and willing to provide some but the NGO lacks the physical capacity. The Village will solve this problem and will give St. Francis the capacity to implement a relief effort to empower the disadvantaged.

Funding to construct the building and a constant flow of tools, materials, equipment and aid will all be provided by international organizations with which St. Francis has relationships.

12) Research and Development – The fact that St. Francis is providing for grassroots developers must be molded into a professional package for delivery and must evolve out of a scientific process based on facts and not assumptions. To achieve this, the Group needs to establish a Centre for training, development and implement the tools to achieve its objectives.

This Centre will be income-generating since it will offer consultation on development to donor agencies, the government and the private sector. It will have the capacity to:

(a) execute survey and research-specific issues for corrective actions.

(b) design buildings that are friendly to different target audiences.

(c) create responsive projects and programmes to suit a specific community, culture or issues of social concern.

(d) develop training materials for innovative responsive programmes such as conflict resolution, peer pressure, religious indifference, racial issues etc.

(e) provide material that the Village will need to respond to training needs.

St. Francis has the capacity, vision and general experience to implement this aspect of its development, but it needs the funding to immediately begin construction.

13) Marketing and Co-op Shop

St. Francis and its 13 partners have been able to double training capacity in the last 12 months. This therefore is giving rise to our ability to produce finished products on a larger scale. The Group has also ventured into several new areas of involvement such as:

• Its Centre at No.58 Village has acquired a new building and $3M in carpentry/joinery equipment for training. To date, several pieces of household items are being developed for sale.
• Its Black Bush Centre is moving towards agricultural activities and plants are now for sale.
• Its ability to offer finished products for sale on a commercial basis is now greatly enhanced to achieve its set goals of self-sustainability while offering quality products. This was achieved by support from the British High Commission and the Guyana Volunteer Consultancy Programme.
• To create sustainability, its partners are producing craft items of a different nature to satisfy the local market. This capacity would be increased to supply needs of Centre.

14) Recreational Area

This will form part of the Centre’s relaxation and create an atmosphere for families’ and guests’ pleasure. It will be installing a park-like facility with:

(a) A Garden

(b) Lawn tennis court

(c) A gym with state-of-the-art equipment.

(d) Basketball/volleyball courts

(e) Swimming pool

(f) Seating area for outdoor entertainment with its steel band and music group.

(g) A mini zoo with the different animals and birds for which Region 6 is known.

15) Dormitories

St. Francis recognised the fact that not all guests and visitors to the Complex will be able to enjoy the international facilities of the Hotel. The cost would be out of their reach and this factor should not prevent the poor from accessing its services. To correct this situation, ST. Francis will build four dormitories to house a large number of persons at cheaper rates. The dorms will still maintain its high standards and offer the kind of service for which St. Francis is noted.

If you wish to assist in making St. Francis’ dream a reality, please contact us or make a donation.