Laventille’s loss

THE EDITOR: Laventille will miss the only loud voice that has for the past 25 or more years, kept the area in the news and on the national agenda for credible and genuine change. I speak of none other than Mr Lennox Smith, who has given much of his time and energy to the area, no doubt at great personal sacrifice. I suspect he could have stayed in the noblest of professions, teaching. However, for whatever reason/s he chose to sacrifice the stability the teaching profession offers for the roughness and uncertainty of grassroot community work, with a Laventille focus. I for one have learnt a lot from him, and I am sure that any genuine community activist in Laventille, worth his/her salt, will attest to the positive impact of this committed soul. In a real sense, he has produced most of us and has led the way with admiration.

I too was surprised at his decision to resign from community work. That must have been a painful decision for him, as indeed, the circumstances which propelled the decision. No one can envy Mr Smith’s efforts at improving the social and economic conditions of Laventille. Just imagine how worse the Laventille crisis would be today if the MLIO Youth Training facility did not exist, which produced over 4,000 employable youths from the area. This is a remarkable feat, when one considers that these youths would have been on the streets, and SERVOL would have been unable to capture them. Mr Smith’s dedication to the area is expressed in multiple ways that only a true patriot can muster.

• He was the first person to introduce the collection for export and recycling of soft drink plastic bottles (this brought a gross income of over 1 million dollars in 1997).
• The first person from Laventille to employ large amounts of persons (especially women) via the labour intensive nature recycling project.
• First person to introduce community-based computer literacy in the country (at a time when many were concerned about the digital divide).
• First person to propose a comprehensive and community-sensitive drain cleaning programme for the 12 drains crossing the Beetham.
• First person to spearhead and facilitate a 3.4 million dollar environmental enhancement programme organised by the then Ministry of the Environment and the Inter American Development Band (IDB).
•First man to identify, suggest and make a proposal for the burnt-out rum bond to be transformed into what was then called an “Inner City Training Facility,” responding to the unique training needs of urban communities (utilising the MLIO experience), and was charged with the responsibility to advise YTEPP and the NESC on the form, scope and depth of the project.
• He was the man who began the construction of what is now proudly called the Beetham Gardens Phase 4 recreational Court (a necessity in that congested urban area).
• He produced the first Constitution for the first ever attempt at bringing all community groups together under one umbrella in Laventille and environs via the “Laventille environmental beautification committee (LEABCO).”
• Mr Smith introduced a free legal aid and advisory clinic operating out of the chambers of attorney Noel John.
• He introduced the concept of the “Empowerment Zone” which he has successfully introduced in Grenada, St Vincent and other Caribbean states.
• He is the first to explore the idea of setting up a “Sports School” to nurture the raw talents of frustrated former secondary school footballers and cricketers who found themselves lingering all over Laventille with nothing to do, but have no way of continuing the sport they love.
• He organised the historic first, four-day conference on crime in Laventille through the “Ad Hoc Committee For The Eradication Of Crime In Laventille,” at the Hilton Trinidad, the Hotel Normandie, the Despers Centre and the Crowne Plaza respectively.

These are just some of Mr Smith’s many initiatives, from an evidently idea-fertile and organised mind. He has always been willing to assist all; even at personal risk. His deep involvement in reconciling gang wars in Laventille through the efforts of the “Council of Elders Of Laventille,” and his production of the first “home grown” over 100-page crime report are living testimony to this fact. Can Laventille or the society afford to lose a man as multi-talented like Mr Smith? I leave the answer to the Government, the business community and social service organisation to answer. Lip service, platitudinous babblings, petty character assignations for the wrong reasons and decisive action — paralysis will not cut it. A pleasant new year to all.

HORACE RAYMOND
Laventille