A Wesley resident has embarked on a beautification project to enhance the north eastern part of Dominica.
The project dubbed, “North Eastern Beatification and Improvement Project” is being spearheaded by Wendy Robin and began on March 5th, 2015, following discussions held as far back as August 2014.
Robin lived in Canada for many years and was also a singer in Asia, Singapore and Hong Kong and upon her return to Dominica realized there was no colour in the Wesley area.
“When I came back to Dominica I find it was really lacking colours there, it needed improvement in hygiene,” she told Dominica News Online. “If you want to attract tourists, we have to be at a certain standard. I decided to start in Wesley and together with my husband we discussed what can be done to improve this place.”
She revealed that so far the organization which runs the project has six members from Wesley, along with other volunteers.
Robin stated further that the beautification project is being done on a daily basis with the cutting of grass on the side of the road, and the like, and is “going pretty good.”
“People are getting very excited about what they see,” she stated.
The first phase of the project will use Wesley as the pilot in an initiative called “Adopt a Palm Tree.”
“What we do is put the palm tree in a stone box and we put a plaque of the name of the person who is adopting it or if they are adopting it for a family member or if they are adopting it in the memory of a family member,” she explained. “Within those palm boxes we put in beautiful flowers with different colours because it is lacking so many colours here.”
That part of the project begins at Londonderry and goes all the way to Eden Road in Wesley.
“In total there will be at least 300 boxes and each cost about US$100 to adopt,” Robin explained. “This is what’s financing the programme for now because people are adopting the boxes. That way we are paying people to build the boxes.”
Following the beautification of the area, Robin and her group plan to add a few public washrooms in Wesley, followed by garbage bins.
“I noticed when we have functions and other events here, there are no public bathrooms for people to go,” she said.
The group also plans to work on a garbage pick up routine for Wesley.
“Garbage collection is not consistent,” Robin noted. “It might come once a week, it might come twice a week, so what happens is there are a lot of worms in the garbage and that is really disgusting.”
She believes that more projects of that nature should be implemented around the island to help beautify the entire country.
“We are going to try our best to maintain cleanliness, as much as possible in a clean and green way, so we are going to push that,” she noted. “I notice now, people use a lot of plastic and it was never like that before. It is not a good habit to pick up. We are trying to move away from the plastic.”
Robin is also seeking corporate and individual donations to assist in driving the project.
See photos below of work on the project.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT PROJECT WEBSITE
Wendy Robin and the team are doing an excellent job at beautifying Wesley village, I trust the other villages in the north will follow swiftly.
keep up the great work. Remember together everyone achieves more, lets all support Wendy on such a wonderful project.
Ahhhw the beautiful Wendy, ohhw she’s preety. Great initiative, ,!
Very good initiative. Something everyone can do in their own community and not only on National Day of Service. The PM of Dominica always tells us to beautify our surroundings by planting flowers and keeping our own little part tidy.
There is a beautiful commercial that tells us to plant a tree in song. It is beautiful. I always hum it long after the commercial has aired. Very catching tune.
There are a few communities I can name that are doing just that, but we need all to come onboard to help beautify and keep our entire country clean. Too many of the takeaway containers litter the place, everyone should keep their containers until they find a garbage bin or take it to your home and dispose in your our garbage bin that is something we can all do.
If we all did our part what a difference it would make. . Good going Wendy.
Wendy, while this is a very good initiative but there are those critics who are bent on doing negative things to tarnish the image of your good innovation. They will vandalize every thing that will come in sight in the dark of night, hoping that they will not be caught. I do hope and pray that this venture will be an ever lasting one.
Good thinking
the red clinic money should go towards that and other things. stop giving some lazy people free money.
Now if only the others wouldn’t litter and clean up a bit.
I am so impressed Wendy thank you I share similar sentiments.Our Dominica in general is too much of a beautiful and God blessed paradise to be littered with so much rubbish and plastics.This has plagued my mind for a very long time and I have been thinking of how could this be done. You have just given me the idea.Come on all Dominicans if we each try to do something like that in each of our communities Dominica would be a much more pleasant place to live and raise our children.Rather than sitting idly by let us do something positive.We will be doing it not just for tourists but mainly for ourselves.It is our country and Dominica is ours to build protect to beautify and to be PROUD of. Once again thank you and may the good Lord bless you abundantly.
Well done! I love the idea and the work. If only more communities would copy this initiative rather than sitting on their back sides all day long, waiting for better things to come.
Wendy, I think I would like to participate in that. I would like a Palm Tree; the real thing planted at the foot of the Hill, next to where the late Sylvester lived, or on the top of the Hill on the left side of the road next to your late grandmother’s place, where the water Stand Pipe is located.
You can obtain my number from Emlord Timothy, or we cousin politician Athenia, give me a call so that I can arranged my financial contribution with you. Don’t know if Rocksen is still in Canada, in any event convey my regards to him. I do not know if I spelt his name correctly, you would know.
Son.
If you read this before next week, call me after the 11th of April; I will be back at home. I am in Las Vegas, and will not return until after the fight on Saturday night, I might be back on Sunday, but definitely by Monday night!
Wendy, you can call me collect!
Son
There are two left and right sides to every road, it all depends which point that you are facing. Do you understand my point? No hard feelings
BEB the Stand Pipe is on the left side of the road when you are going up the Hill. When you walk out of my late aunt’s yard, Ma Joseph Harry, Wendy’s Grandmother Mother, if you decide to go down the hill, the Stand Pipe water-works is on the right side of the road.
Remember that part of the road has three corners!
Where is the Parliamentary representative in all of this
there are photos of him on facebook..actually doing physical work (using a grass cutter). He supports the initiative but isn’t one to push his nose forward and take credit nor take the light off the people who envisaged it! Everything doesn’t have to be political – this is not a political matter!
Why should the parliamentary representative be involved into it? I mean Bazil can become involved, as a private citizen of the village, he should make his personal contribution if he care to do so, all of us born in Wesley wether we reside in Wesley or not, and regardless which political party we support should put the village first and work collectively for the good of our village!
However, to get in there from a political point of view at this time is not necessary, and will serve no useful purpose, the minuet you bring politics into it, the efforts will fail. Remember the color’s red and blue do not mixed very well, try it mixed some blue, and red paint and see what color you get; it’s not very pretty.
This is something started by someone I believe not to be political, let it remain that way, people can make more progress without government, or political involvement; some of us are too damn political!
Wonderful project.
Great initiative Wendy! I hope the Wesley people will see the value in this beautification project, and progressively come on board to continually improve on it, and make Wesley a model community. The rest of Dominica should take a page from this, and do similar for their communities. Dominica can be soo much more beautiful if we make use of our beautiful plants that God has soo richly blessed us.
Brilliant positive idea, which should be embraced by other villages in similar circumstances.
I am very impressed with this project. When anyone visits a place for the first time, its amazing how much impact cleanliness and color has a lasting effect on them. Great going! looking forward to the end results of this project.
Great work Wendy! …and on the thought to tourism…to those of us in the diaspora…Come home…stay a while and play a role in Wesley’s development…don’t run away to compare Dominica to developed countries! Little by little our dollars and support will help to make Wesley a little paradise.
Positive vibes for Wesley! Go Wendy and crew! Lets make Wesley beautiful again!!!!
Great job,just remember if you cut the grass you need to plant some kin of tree not just the palm to keep the soil intact.
Great initiative. Good to see that you are making a difference.
This is what I like to see. It’s called initiative. We need more Dominicans like this. Good job and keep it up.
Now that is what I call taking the initiative and not depending on government.
Very laudable goals. Great job Wendy.
Thank God there are a few Dominicans who are more concerned about up-lifting their community and not just drowning in DA politics.
Kudos to you.
now if only the nasty pointe michel people would do the same
Bravo Wendy & Ivan. Hopefully this initiative will spread all across Dominica.
Great initiative