Residents of Charuma Village, Biche protested for hours on Monday morning calling for a meeting with the relevant agencies.
They believe their community has been neglected for far too long, and want resources to be directed toward the building of a community centre and the lighting of a recreation ground, amongst other things.
Our Reporter Cindy Raghubar-Teekersingh was in the community and tell us more.
00:00 At a glance, life in the rural village of Charuma Beach looks easygoing and simple.
00:07 But for the residents who live here, all it feels like on a daily basis is neglected.
00:14 Nobody study in this area. This whole area, we only menu there. This is our menu.
00:20 Nobody not study in this area. The gong, nothing. No community centre.
00:27 Outside no jobs, nothing. Come here, it's off the map.
00:32 When it's time for election, all we do is go out and vote. We just support.
00:36 This whole area here, right, is a PNM area.
00:42 And the council that run here for 17 years is a different party.
00:48 So that party is the party that's giving no respect to our youth here.
00:53 It's reached a boiling point, prompting hours of fiery protest on Monday morning.
00:59 School exams, jobs and all else were disrupted as the residents called for a meeting with anyone in authority who's able to improve their community.
01:10 Who's gong fix? Beach gong fix and want me to do this one.
01:14 And it's a real youth here. It's a real youth here.
01:17 Look at all the people, they don't get nothing.
01:20 The just want me to go fix, they want me to go fix here too.
01:23 We want lights! We want lights!
01:26 We're the only community that don't have a community centre in our district.
01:31 We don't have no lights. We don't even have a preschool.
01:36 The youths on the streets, they're saying that the stigma to them is that they're arrogant, they don't look for no jobs.
01:47 If we have a community centre, that we could do little courses that uplift them.
01:55 It would be a plus for us.
01:57 Apart from the hosting of an event, like a sports day they had over the weekend, Diaz says the grass on the ground remains overgrown, unmaintained.
02:08 The regional corporation, they say, has said in the past that a lack of resources lends to its inability to assist.
02:17 The residents say more disruptions will come if no one takes their concerns seriously.
02:24 The children of the village are suffering.
02:28 We need our support. We need our support.
02:32 We want the minister of sports to find out why this ground doesn't have lights for over 17 years now.
02:41 We want somebody in our mountain to give them that grace. If that doesn't happen in our mountain, it will be worse.
02:47 We contacted the councillor for Bish Charoma, Sharli Muna, who said major projects like lighting of their ground and a community centre have to be funded by different ministries.
03:00 She adds that there has been continuous dialogue with the residents and clubs with regards to the construction of a new pavilion,
03:08 as the old dilapidated one is on private land and out of the corporation's jurisdiction.
03:14 But she says she remains committed to working with the relevant stakeholders to find viable solutions.
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