THE ST. Catherine community initiative in Old Harbour Bay styled 'Yard Project' is an excellent example of what can be achieved in the wake of natural disaster. It is even more noteworthy that the effort was not part of the general programme of relief undertaken by government agencies in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan last September.Old Harbour Bay on the southern coast of St. Catherine was one of the worst affected areas, with homes damaged or completely destroyed leaving many homeless. The small fishing village had the benefit of a hometown benefactor who had left the island in 1989 to study abroad. Dr. Dexter Gordon achieved academic eminence as a university professor in Tacoma, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
News of his devastated community prompted his return and the launching of the rebuilding project which was featured in Tuesday's Gleaner as 'Yard Project to the rescue'.
The Old Harbour disaster is minuscule in comparison with the Asian tsunami disaster which was spawned by earthquake in the depths of the Indian Ocean, and stirred unprecedented and continuing global reaction. But the small fishing village also suffered from an angry sea; and the scale of disaster was enough to grab the notice of a native son living abroad.
Dr. Gordon's response is a reminder of the promise held out by representatives of the Jamaican diaspora, particularly in the United States. Their remittances have become an important segment of the financial support we get from abroad; but the missions that have visited home, and whatever dialogue continues to formalise other elements of support have still to reach structural form. So that the individual response to local disaster is even more noteworthy, as it shows that basic patriotic feeling for "the rock" survives.
The Old Harbour Bay example also prompts speculation about the scope of self-help that is so seldom exercised. Frequent examples are the almost nightly television parade of gutted rural roadways as the backdrop of protesting demonstrators calling for action or "justice".
We are not here defending government neglect in these matters. But it seems to us that the native son who flew back to the rescue of Old Harbour Bay is a model worth emulating, if not by other potential benefactors in the diaspora, then other community leaders here at home.
