If things go his way, Carl Hill, a retired businessman who lost his right leg to a gunman’s bullet in the 70s, will start shooting a documentary highlighting the horrors of gang warfare in inner-city communities this August.

Entitled “Gang War In the Ghetto” the documentary will highlight the theme “Ghetto Mentality is a cancer, urgently in need of a cure”.

It will feature the testmonies of former gang members as well as the victims whose lives were changed as a result of the notorious ‘tribal wars’ of the sixties and seventies.

“Our goal is to educate, motivate and positively transform our younger generation by their witnessing the heart-breaking testimony of the mothers who lost their loved ones in the gang wars. The stories of the ex-gang members along with mothers who bore children for those gang members and how it has affected theor lives over the years,” Hill told the Observer West.

In order to achieve his goals, though, Hill must raise the necessary funds of US $104,000.

” Right now we are concerntrating on raising the money to finish the music video with which we hope to raise funds for the documentary,” he said.

To this end, Hill is pulling out all the stops. He is currently engaging churches with a view to marketing his self-designed greeting cards. He’s also hoping to raise money from the sale of T-Shirts bearing Violence Awareness logos and inspirational literature.

“I am very passionate about this. As a victim of one of the bloodiest gang wars in Western Jamaica, I am compelled to free myself by building this gang prevention project. Jamaica does not deserve to have so many gangs operating here. In the last five years Jamaica has recorded 10.0000 homicides. We need to purge society of this Ghetto mentality,” he told the Observer West.

If he gets the support he needs, Hill plans to transform the 2056 square foot building that used to house his business and residence in Montego Bay’s volatile Green Pond community, into a community centre.

“The name of the community centre will be ‘Stages of Life North Western St James communities Edutainment center’. Proposed activities will be a Boxing Gym, computer room, day-care centre and other needed activities,” he said.

Some 20 artists based in Western Jamaica are willing to donate their time and talent to the project.

And Hill is optimistic that the cause will attract more participation over time.

“We are aware of the Global crisis facing many organisations at this time, however we would be more than grateful if you can assist in this endeavour to help change the mind set of those youngsters who are becoming hopeless and discouraged,” said Hill in an appeal to corporate Jamaica.