Caring for Carenage
INTERVIEW BY VERDEL BISHOP
verdel.bishop@trinidadexpress.com
COUNCILLOR Kevon Williams grew up in the Carenage community and understands what it means to serve from the bottom up.
A newcomer to politics, with responsibility for the Chaguaramas/Pt Cumana area, he believes that a grassroots leadership style is what is necessary to serve and eventually change the mindsets of members of the community.
In an interview with the Sunday Express, he acknowledged the challenges ahead, with gang warfare rearing its ugly head in Carenage.
Williams, who was sworn in on August 25 following the August 14 local government election, believes that starting from the ground level, with the aid of the young people in the community, peace will return to the Carenage community.
He explained that he was not new to the service.
'For many years, I've been involved in a number of different social intervention programmes. I've seen the benefits of my labour in so many different ways. I am new to politics but I'm not new to service and I'm not new to humility, being a humanitarian and working with underprivileged families, fenceline communities and with at-risk children,' he said.
Having come from the private sector, he has worked with companies that have strong corporate citizenship programmes.
Now he represents the State and believes he still possesses the same passion, as he says he will go above and beyond for the youth and senior citizens.
Unlike many people who described Carenage as a crime hotspot, Williams sees progress.
'It is quite unfortunate that the community is facing some dark days. Young lives are being lost. Some of the youth are glorifying gang warfare. This is a cultural mindset that we need to change. There is an attraction to that lifestyle because youth see these bad guys as heroes. There needs to be some level of intervention. We have to make the underworld life look unattractive to our youth. But it is a holistic approach to encouraging young people to look away from that life and become responsible citizens. I, too, was once a young, misplaced man,' he told the Sunday Express.
He said while Carenage is a community of middle- to low-income families, there is ambition and an entrepreneurial spirit within the community.
The majority of the community are law abiding citizens and they produce many sportsmen and academics.
Williams added that despite the overwhelming challenges, he understands the need to introduce some level of innovation as a platform is created for these youth to change and excel.
He said there are opportunities for young people to make their lives better.
'I want the young people to see how they fit into this national plan and select any opportunity that best appeals to them. We are on the cusp of local government reform, so it's more or less moving the central government closer to the communities. We want to bring the services closer to the community, and that will bring a lot of opportunities, increased resources, greater autonomy, and better management of systems, policies, and processes'. He noted that there were many opportunities for young people to be trained with vocational skills which the national community needs. This is supported by the Ministry of Youth Development and National Service, he said. He added that there was a heavy concentration on agriculture, which a combination of ministries would have listed as a priority, as there is a need to prioritise people's health while cultivating more domestic produce. Williams emphasised the importance of young people understanding and embracing those opportunities.
He added, 'I have a lot to do coming in because there is no shortage of facilities for young people. Many of them are not aware of the programmes available or how to access them. Sometimes information doesn't reach the youth where they are and I want to play a critical role in informing them, getting them signed up and getting them thinking about what their future selves could look like.'
Williams refused to accept the conclusion that this generation is a lost generation as he believed it was possible to reach the youth once the institutional strength of the State, private sector, civil service, school guidance, councillors, and most importantly, parents, are utilised.
Williams noted that complaints of poor infrastructure, including bad roads and access to regular pipe-borne water, are a work in progress for the community.
DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP STYLE: Kevon Williams
