BTGBA cleans Beecher Town cemetery, targets basic school

The Beecher Town Give Back Association (BTGBA) conducted a major cleaning up of the Beecher Town cemetery over the past week as the group returned to its beloved St Ann community once more to contribute.

The next step, a project which has already commenced, is the refurbishing of the basic school in the community, to enable its usage after it was closed three years ago.

Fay Grocia, president of the BTGBA, told The Gleaner that the cemetery was in a poor state and required the clean-up.

“We did it because the cemetery was in a deplorable condition. Our loved ones are over there, we couldn’t keep it that way,” Grocia said.

“We can’t rely on the government to do this for us. This is our cemetery, so we have to keep it the way it should be kept. You couldn’t find half of the graves. We figured it was something we could do as a community effort, and I hope that they will maintain it going forward,” she added.

Regarding the basic school, Grocia said work has started but was unable to commit to a completion date.

“It has been closed for the past three years, so it’s in a state of total disrepair. So far, we are replacing the windows. We have to gut the complete building because it has been locked up so long, rats and roaches have taken over; there is water soakage, we have to do a lot of things to get it back to a usable state. And it’s taking a bit of money ,so we’re actually seeking funding to get it done.”

Upon completion, Grocia is hoping to get children from the community back into the institution or to use it as a special needs facility.

Since the closure, residents have had to be sending their children to basic schools outside the community. Hinds Town, Parry Town, and Epworth are nearby communities to Beecher Town, in addition to the major resort town of Ocho Rios.

Meanwhile, BTGBA board member Audley Codner, while acknowledging another successful year for the association, called for greater input from community members.

“We’re doing a little bit of what we can do but we’d like to see more community effort. The community needs to be more closely knitted so we can even go to bigger things,” he said.

“I definitely would like to see a unison, a unity in the community, everybody doing their bit. Don’t really depend on us. We can just fill in, but, once you’re here, work together. I would like to see more community effort – the school, churches, and the residents who live here,” he added.

The BTGBA is made up of former Beecher Town residents now residing overseas. They have been returning biennially since 2011 to uplift the community by offering free healthcare, sports and other activities.

This year, the free healthcare was provided by the Indian High Commission.

Carl Gilchrist