LIME TREE, Trelawny — The recent completion of the $140-million Mendez Town Road Rehabilitation Project, executed by Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) with funding from Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), has been hailed as a transformative milestone by residents and stakeholders alike.

The long-anticipated project, on which JSIF partnered with the Trelawny Municipal Corporation, has significantly improved accessibility and quality of life for residents — mostly farmers who for years endured treacherous conditions along the rugged roadway.

Ionie Stewart Samms, president of the Community Development Committee for the area, was visibly emotional as she recounted the challenges faced in the past.

“I remember days gone by, going to school I have to be carrying two [pairs of] shoes. When I carry the old one come up I put it in a plastic bag. I have to put it under a tree. When I do that, when I’m coming home if it rains the shoes is wet. I have to take off the [high] heels, put on the wet shoes to tackle the road going down,” shared Samms, a farmer and educator.

“It is with joy that I can stand here this afternoon to say, ‘Thank you very much CDB and JSIF for the tremendous work you are doing and the work you continue to do’,” she added.

Member of Parliament for Trelawny Southern Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, who strongly lobbied for the road’s rehabilitation, also expressed heartfelt gratitude. Reflecting on her early memories of the road’s condition, she shared a personal story that she said has stayed with her over the years.

“My history with this road… it’s way back. There’s a mark on my hand here. I came here as a young Member of Parliament, and I heard that the road was bad and I needed to go and look at it. One evening, I said, ‘Come, I’m going down there’. And I walked. And as I went on, the stones caused my foot to twist, I fell right down, and a stone hit me right in my hand, and one of the pebbles lodged in my arm. I had to go to the doctor. I got infected. And I never forget a little man say, ‘Serve you right, look how long the road waah fix and you nuh come. Serve your right!’ I never forget it!” said Dalrymple-Philibert, affectionately called “Mama D” by her constituents.

She said the project came after her second formal appeal to JSIF.

Speaking during a ceremony to mark the handover of the rehabilitated road last week, JSIF Managing Director Omar Sweeney also recalled the extremely bad road condition with which he was faced but eventually overcame with assistance from residents whose sweat equity amounted to nearly $5 million of the price tag attached to the project.

“When I came here Minister [of Agriculture, Floyd] Green, I had to ask, ‘Why is it that when we’re asked to fix a road, we get the most difficult ones? Now, they take all the easy ones for themselves, and they give JSIF basket to carry water’. But we managed,” Sweeney said.

“We have managed with the help of the community. They came out, they supported, they worked, they contributed. And I remember especially, I still have the picture, I think it could have been a dozen women working on the job,” he added.

In his keynote address during the official opening ceremony, Minister Green noted that 185 residents, 90 per cent of them farmers, will benefit from the rehabilitated road.

“We already have over 100 acres of land under production, mostly yam. Then imagine now with the road, how we’re going to expand production. So we are very happy today because it signals additional support to our farmers here in South Trelawny,” Green said.

“The beauty is that you don’t just pave road because if you just paved up the road and leave it, the first shower of rain would mash it up. You see a drainage system that goes with the road so that it can stand the test of time. I think we should give JSIF a big, big round of applause,” he added.

Sweeney noted that the community also received training in road maintenance under one component project.

“That training… included a kit. They have been provided with machetes, wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, gloves, brooms, even garbage bags to maintain the road,” the JSIF boss said.

Dalrymple-Philibert emphasised that the rehabilitated road is a significant step towards community development.

“This road, I want everybody to know, is more than just a stretch of asphalt. It represents, as our executive director said this evening, progress and opportunity for all in this area. It is going to support local farming businesses, and it will, in general, support the life of all the people in the community. So I really want to extend very heartily, a warm and big thank you to every person, every agency, everybody who took part in this. A warm welcome and thanks for contributing to this project,” said the Member of Parliament.

Ionie Stewart Samms, president of the Community Development Committee for the Lorrimers Division, was visibly emotional as she recounted the challenges faced before the road was repaired. (Horace Hines)

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green said 185 residents, 90 per cent of them farmers, will benefit from the rehabilitated road. (Horace Hines)

Lowe River Primary and Infant School students reciting a dub poem during the ceremony to hand over the recently completed $140-million Mendez Town Road Rehabilitation Project in Trelawny. (Horace Hines)

As a young Member of Parliament for Trelawny Southern, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert fell and injured her hand on the road, which was badly in need of repair from back then. (Horace Hines)