An exciting and necessary venture is taking place in Anguilla to revive the spirit of community throughout Anguilla. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Social Development being spearheaded by the Department of Youth and Culture that began in Blowing Point and has now turned it attention to Anguilla’s capital, The Valley.

I am a Valley Girl. This is my attempt to appear younger than I am as Anguillians of old would say, “Valleyan”. Now don’t get me wrong, wherever I go in Anguilla I feel the breeze and smell the sea and love the sweetness of Anguilla talk and know how not to talk while eating sham. All those youths in groups that want to be thought of as Crips and Bloods are my brethren and all those families into which they were born are my cousins so when I say I am a Valley Girl, I am one whose T-shirt will be coloured red and blue. My roots are in Long Bay, West End, South Hill, Blowing Point, North Side, South Valley, Stoney Ground, The Forest and East End but today I really want to highlight the Valley Community, my own hood, the place of my birth and the location of my earliest memories.

Last month I received a letter inviting me to a community consultation at the basketball court in the Valley. According to the letter, the initiative is intended “to provide youth development services for young people in communities throughout Anguilla.” The purpose of the consultation, my letter said was “to establish among community members the basis and the way forward for the development of an initiative that provides youth development services for young people in the Valley community.” The expected outcomes were that community issues related to the development of young people would be identified; the interest of community members in addressing those issues would be determined and a steering committee would be formed to guide the process forward.

The Department was very realistic in anticipating the response to the many letters sent out, some via school children to their parents. Hence, the meeting was not half as well attended as it could have been but all the chairs set out were occupied. I was very pleased to see a number of primary and secondary students present and the young men on the basketball court stopped playing long enough to participate in the meeting. Even Nurse Boy took time out from his car wash business to sit in for a little while. The meeting achieved its objectives and the small group that volunteered to take the process forward has met twice since then at Triple Crown Culture Yard. Among this group of Anguillians and non-Anguillians alike, there is a little girl called Artesha Richardson who makes my heart glad. She is full of ideas, is not shy about sharing them and is willing to lead take the lead in the Dance Off, which is her idea of an activity that would stimulate youth interest in an upcoming Fun Day being planned as part of the process of securing youth participation.

A very methodical approach is being taken with the first step being to define the Valley community. For purposes of this initiative, the boundaries delineating the Valley are from the Roundabout, across to Landsome Road, up through South Valley, including Sachasses, Crocus Hill, Roaches Hill, North Valley, North Side and back on the main road up to the Roundabout with everything in between. This is just a working definition to enable the process to be manageable. The first step of the plan was to identify formal and informal community leaders who would accompany Department staff on a walking transect through the communities identified, talking with residents and identifying resources that could be employed in shaping the initiative. We began to compile a list of community resources in the last meeting and since that last meeting I have thought of a few that were omitted. These are the kinds of omissions that will be rectified by a walk through. During the transect walks, informal conversations will be held with people on the street and possibly in their homes so that residents themselves can express their views on how to engage with young people and in my mind, that should also be coupled with how cultural activity can be integrated in the engagement.

Inevitably our thoughts turned to the “gang” rivalry that makes some young people in Anguilla afraid to come to the Valley and that causes some Valley Boys to stay home, in the same fear of passing through communities where other “gang” members reside. It is my hope that we can evolve with a process that establishes the Valley as a Zone of Peace that will be respected by all. This objective will require the assertive effort on the part of Valley Boys, Valley Girls, Valley Adults and Valley Elders. It means that we must not call our communities names like Baghdad but may want to rename them after some of our community heroes. Some may disagree but I find nothing wrong about naming our heroes while they are alive and even while they are young. It also means that we must enable our young people to feel powerful enough and confident enough to express themselves in creative and non-violent ways and find by whatever means necessary, whatever it takes to restore their freedom to walk or drive through this island free of fear. At the community meeting it was pointed out that much of the rivalry was fueled through competitive basketball right on the court at which we were meeting. The message to me is that sports development, youth development, cultural development, spiritual development, social development in general must be strategically integrated in the process of engagement with the young people in our communities.
Following the informal walk-throughs, other youth leaders in the community will help to plan a number of cellular meetings in the spots where young people hang out. When asked at the consultation what would make the meetings more effective, the ready answer was food. So businesses, even micro ones like Millie and Fausie’s Johnny cakes must be supported when the Omega Car Wash Meeting is called and Carl and Claudette under the tree must be supported when the Nurse Boy Car Wash Meeting is called. The drinks can be purchased at Ashley’s and so on. Of course sponsorship offers would be readily accepted. The Koal Keel Restaurant has already expressed an interest in student placements leading to on the job learning and training. This is exactly the kind of example that other businesses can emulate. The beauty of all this is that the process can be replicated in each community and you can take the initiative to begin in your community so that by the time the Department is ready, there is already an active nucleus. Right now though, it is Valley time and if you live anywhere within the boundaries prescribed come on board. You are certainly needed.

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