Rose Bank Development Association celebrates

Fri, Mar 9. 2012

Editor: On June 1st of this year, the Rose Bank Development Association (ROBDA) will celebrate twenty-five years of existence. This is no mean achievement. Congratulations are in order for the current President, Miss Joslyn Robinson, its executive and members.{{more}}

In future articles, I will highlight some its achievements as well as its challenges. ROBDA was formed after there was a series of crimes that was threatening this small peaceful village. As a result of its formation, we saw the reduction and almost minimal criminal activity as residents were able to come together as one people.

Over the years, it has encountered many challenges in order to survive. It had its ups and downs, but it has survived. It is made up of persons from various backgrounds, political and religious persuasions. It has seen many presidents and executive members. It has produced many persons of notable status in society. Amongst them is the newly elected president of the SVUT, Oswald Robinson, who was the longest serving president of ROBDA. ROBDA takes this opportunity to extend to him congratulations and wish him all the best in his tenure as president.

Throughout the years, it was able to accomplish much. Among its achievement was the building of the Rose Bank bus shed. This bus shed was built without sponsorship, but simply with the funds and efforts of its members. It had its challenges in erecting the bus shed, for they had to survive the opposition of many persons while doing so. The determination of its members then is commendable.

It is a community group that has not allowed party politics to interfere with its operations, and also has and will not be a political tool for any politician. When there was a disaster in Rose Bank from the invasion of the sea, which destroyed all the homes along the sea coast in Dark View, ROBDA was able to successfully manage the camping of the displaced residents and also fairly distribute clothing and foodstuff without political interference and bias. Indeed the displaced residents were well taken care of.

Also of notable achievement was following the general elections of 2001 it was able to unite the community through the first ever soft ball village cricket competition. It was no mean accomplishment, as persons from both political parties were able to unite and play together, and they even drank together! This aided in erasing the malice and hatred that existed then following the general elections. It was also good seeing guys leaving the hills and coming home to participate in the cricket, and even to watch the games as spectators. However, we bemoaned the fact that the playing field at Rose Bank was also destroyed following the aforementioned disaster which destroyed the entire sea front.

The cricket competition was then played at Troumaca bottom. Since that time we have been promised a playing field and have not up to this time received it. It was such a pity that the vending, as a result of the competition, could not be done at Rose Bank, where the residents could have directly benefitted from such an activity.

Robda was the leader in adult education in North Leeward, where since its inception, and up to the time before the introduction of the education revolution, it was doing it voluntarily. Many persons benefitted in many ways from the programme. It is unfortunate, and I must say unkind, that following the introduction of the education revolution, where now the facilitators were paid and there was a coordinator, that ROBDA was unceremoniously thrown away, in the sense that Government took it over, paid the facilitators and ignored ROBDA. That was an evil done to ROBDA. Robda should have been the coordinator of adult education in North Leeward, but instead politicians thought otherwise. This is one of the challenges it had to face. Sadly, adult education has ceased to exist in Rose Bank. It was killed, but not buried.

In the follow up articles, more highlights of its achievements and its challenges will be outlined.

Kennard King