RUSSIA, Westmoreland –Forty-seven-year-old Paul Anthony Richards, electrician and cable technician, is concerned about the deteriorating quality of life and the feeling of desperation affecting residents of Russia in Savanna-la-Mar, especially the young.

“This scamming foolishness, is just about 10 years ago it start. The older people have their trades, but the young have very little,” he said.

Richards, who is also public relations officer for the Russia Community Development Committee (CDC) said basic necessities such as water and electricity are scarce in the community where young people are also in need of remedial education.

“The main problems of Russia apart from infrastructure are crime and violence. We need a police post because things are liable to happen,” he said.

Other concerns, he said include the poor state of recreational areas within the community and the lack of street lighting.

The raft of social ills affecting the community, however, could soon be addressed under the recent launch of the Integrated Community Development Programme (ICDP) here.

Funded by a World Bank loan of US$42 million, the ICDP is being implemented in 18 communities island-wide by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), over a five-year period.

Managing director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, speaking at the launch in Russia, said that the project seeks to promote public safety.

“A major leg will be the improvement in access to basic infrastructure such as roads, storm water drainage, sewerage, water supply, household sanitation connections, and zinc fence replacement,” he outlined.

The project will also provide a range of social service interventions, including after-school educational and recreation projects, minor rehabilitation to school infrastructure, provision of birth certificates, mentorship, employment and skill-training opportunities for youth through partnerships with numerous entities including HEART Trust/NTA, National Solid Waste Management Authority and private sector companies.

Dwayne Vaz, the member of Parliament for Central Westmoreland who was present at the launch, said the project which includes both infrastructure upgrades and a social development aspect, is badly needed in Russia.

“Russia is a community which has been stigmatised. Such an intervention will change the whole perception of what the community is about, and who the people are in the community,” he said.