DORRETT Nelson and her husband, David worked hard all their lives.

They held down good-paying jobs and lived comfortably for more than 40 years in their Ebony Park home in South West Clarendon. They had basic amenities like running water and electricity – making their everyday lives easier. But one day the pipes suddenly went dry.

In fact, the pipes in dozens of households in Ebony Park and some nearby communities have remained dry for well over a decade, forcing residents to dip into their pockets almost weekly to purchase water to fill tanks and other receptacles.

Now in their mid-70s, the Nelsons say they are feeling the pinch of the constant spending as their savings are now slowly drying up.

“We go to the [National Water Commission] and we beg and we plead, and they don’t do nothing to help us. It’s years now we living without water in the pipes, and we have to be buying water to fill the tank,” Dorrett told the Sunday Observer. She was seated on a lounge chair on her verandah.

“We used to have water in the community, and then we just wake up one day and none was there. And we report the matter several times, and now it is a permanent thing. We need some help.”

Although colourful plants and tall trees flourished inside a few yards, the majority of the Ebony Park community resembled the drought-plagued section of the American Mid-West. The numerous empty lots – dried out from the glare of the merciless sun – only served to bolster this image.

A common sentiment among residents is that state authorities have woefully neglected them.

“We need a lot of things down here, including better roads and job opportunities for the young people. If you look at the state of the place, you will see that a lot of development is needed in the area,” said Patsy, a young neighbour of the Nelsons.

“We also have the popular Ebony Park HEART Academy, which needs to be developed even more. They can also use some of the empty lots to build up some more training centres.”

Added David Nelson: “We have whole heap of waste land in the community that need to be used up. A whole heap of young boys in the area need help and we need some workshops for them.”

Elsewhere in the community, others pointed out that they often have to come together to perform tasks carried out by works agencies in other sections of the island.

“If we don’t chop and clean the roadways and the lots, the place don’t clean up and look good. That’s the only way the place can look decent. We don’t see no MP to tell these things to,” said Mark Ferguson, a businessman.

Problems and concerns raised by residents in Ebony Park and its environs last week were echoed all over South West Clarendon, one of the largest constituencies in the parish, comprising some 80 polling divisions and dozens of agriculturally based districts. In communities like Milk River, Race Course, York Town, Toll Gate and Kemps Hill, reports of regular flooding in times of heavy rain were numerous. The ubiquitous issue of deplorable road conditions, lack of employment opportunities for idle youngsters and a member of parliament (the PNP’s Noel Arscott) who many said was “missing in action”.

“We tired fi call him and him don’t come.

Sometimes we feel like nobody cares. We feel neglected by the representatives. Whether we are PNP or Labourite, we must all live good and look out for one another,” said Dorrett Nelson.

Over in York Town, where a number of shops have been closed down, resident Karen Morrison spoke of the need for skills training centres, among other things.

“Times hard right now and a lot of the young people are not working, so, if we get a skills centre, then they can learn a skill or two to help them get a job,” said Morrison. “Even the shopkeepers having it hard. I’m running a little shop but it’s not going, but I’m still trying with it.”

Like Morrison’s uphill battle, the roads leading from York Town to Gimme-me-bit and Race Course are riddled with potholes. But the towering stalks of sugar cane in the sweltering heat that line the roadways are beautiful. There is evidence of drought, but not enough to mar the wonderful view. Gimme-me-bit and Kemps Hill are quiet and clean with decent houses, but the stuffed gullies coupled with the poor drainage system causes nightmarish experiences for people living in the area whenever it rains.

“The whole area waan develop. The whole place needs proper drainage. All the while the place get flood out. Right now flooding is one the biggest concerns down here in Kemps Hill,” said Roy Grant.

Grant, who is unemployed, was standing among a group of women and children. “Mr Arscott says he is not getting enough money to fix the problems facing the communities down this side, especially the drains,” he said.

At the Milk River Bath and Spa, employee Nordia Grange noted that because of the poor condition of the road most motorists were unwilling to make the trip, resulting in a reduction in visitors to

the facility.

“It’s mostly the roads that we have a problem with. But I also think the community needs a health centre,” Grange continued.

For Althea Gottschalk, the future looks gloomy.

“We frustrated down here. Nothing not going on. Vere mash up. Since the Monymusk factor lay off workers it affecting us,” said the 29-year-old shopkeeper. “The workers and the taxi drivers used to come and buy liquor but that stop now so my money getting less and less.”