Principal looks to improve roads, job opportunities in Sturge Town
CLAUDETTE BROWN – JLP, STURGE TOWN DIVISION, ST ANN NORTH WEST
BASIC SCHOOL principal Claudette Brown cannot recall a time when she wasn’t offering to serve her community of Sturge Town, St Ann, in one capacity or another.
Her story is a poignant example of how communities are built, especially in rural areas, and often on the backs of professionals who have remained on the ground.
“I am always serving at school or in the church. I used to work with slower students with developmental challenges. I started at an early age working with children at the basic school, to assist students and parents and I have risen to become principal at the New Vision Early Childhood Institution, but I am a degree-trained teacher,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.
“I was born into a family of JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) supporters – my mom, aunts, uncles, grandma, everybody,” she said, adding that it was only natural that she would want to run for the JLP.
Over the years, the Sturge Town division has swung between the two major political parties.
Results of the last local government polls showed that the JLP received 1,435 or 53.7 per cent of the votes cast and the People’s National Party (PNP) bagged 1,222, or 45. 7 per cent. There were 17 rejected ballots and 8,701 registered voters. The last councillor, Winston Lawrence, has now retired.
‘I THINK I CAN DO BETTER’
“The greatest [concern] for the division is the lack of roads and I think I can do better. When you have meetings with the people, they tell you what are their main concerns and you have to prioritise. Although the MP (Krystal Lee) has fixed more than 27 roads since she was elected, there is still so much to be done, for it was needing attention for a long time,” Brown explained, adding that the division is characterised by hilly terrain.
For the teacher, the lack of employment opportunities for young people in the area is a huge concern. Many have looked to overseas work programmes to improve their lives.
“Right now, a lot of them are working at the hotels, too, having been certified through HEART. But many believe that overseas provides greener pastures, and want to go and see for themselves. But I think I will be able to pull off a victory and keep the division for the JLP, given what I see on the ground,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.
Brown prides herself on the relationships she has built in the communities and expects to be in the winner’s enclosure when the votes are counted.