NEW YORK, USA — For some Jamaicans who hail from a number of rural districts in St Mary and who have been residing in the Diaspora for decades, the hope is that the results of the September 3, 2025 parliamentary election will finally bring much-needed improvements and lead to the revival of their once-bustling communities.

Among the districts in question are Mt Regale; Seaton; Upton and Clarke Castle, all in the constituency of St Mary South Eastern which was snatched by the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Christopher Brown from the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Norman Dunn.

Brown polled 6,686 votes to Dunn’s 6,640.

“The two most pressing needs are potable water and improvements to the roads. Virtually no attempt has been made to improve the condition of the road and to provide a water supply system for several years,” lamented Damian Thompson who grew up in Mt Regale and who currently resides in New York.

He said he worries about the conditions as “my grandmother and other relatives still live there”.

Primrose Hanchard, a retired social worker who is also from Mt Regale, agrees that, “the two most pressing issues affecting that and adjourning districts are improvements to the roads and the provision of water”.

She noted that for the eponymous Hanchard Family Foundation— a non-profit entity which sponsors an annual health, education and back-to-school fair in the district — “it’s becoming more challenging to host the event as we have to be spending large sums to purchase water, even though we have received support for what we have been doing”, she said in an interview.

For Keith N Smellie, a Long Island, New York, resident, improvement of the road “is long overdue”. A former correctional officer, Smellie grew up in Upton and says he is also at a loss as to the reasons no attempt has been made to fix the water supply problem, given that a source which once supplied the commodity still exists.

“What is needed is for rehabilitative work to be undertaken on the facility. I believe, too, that a storage tank could be tied into the existing source which could then be filled — as required by the St Mary Municipal Corporation distribution programme to boost the existing capacity — thus ensuring the availability of a constant supply of water,” he reasoned.

Though Carlene McIntosh, a New York-based hospital secretary, has never resided in any of the communities, she says she has been keenly aware of the situation, having visited family members there on a number of occasions.

“It would be good to have the concerns of the residents addressed, and improvements undertaken to the roads, and a proper water system developed to provide that commodity,” she added.

Lenord Whitfield, a Clarke Castle native, said he believes the authorities are not keen on providing the necessary improvements and resources for these deep-rural communities as they view them as not capable of generating or contributing much to the tax base.

He argued, however, that “these are predominantly farming communities with the potential to contribute much to the economy should their roads and water situations be vastly improved”.

A Florida-based adjunct professor, Raymond Rhoden, in expressing hopes that the new Member of Parliament will make improvements of the roads and provision of a proper water supply system for the communities a top priority, also noted that, “there is a dire need for the provision of a multi-faceted facility to provide skills training for the young people of the communities”.

He said that finding such a facility should not be difficult as a building which once housed the Mt Regale All Age School (which has been closed for several years now) could be refurbished and equipped for the purpose.

This idea has garnered broad support from many like Dwight P Bailey, a former member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) who has been a long-time member of the Diaspora.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer during last month’s (August, 2025) staging of the Hanchard Family Foundation activity, then candidate Brown said the two issues of concern to residents would be given priority attention were he to be elected.

Meanwhile, more than 200 children and other members of the communities benefited from this year’s Hanchard Family event.

Two students, Andara Kelly of Rock River Primary who is now attending Ardene High School, and Javhaney of Richmond Primary who is now attending St Mary Technical High School, were assisted with financial resources from the foundation.

Seaton Basic School, which is currently under reconstruction after being severely damaged by Hurricane Beryl last year, also received financial and other assistance from the foundation while several attendees were screened for health-related issues.

Andara Kelly

Javhnaney Gordon