Minister Johnson moving Carmichael Forward!

Nassau, Bahamas – The students of Gerald Cash Primary School and the residents of the Flamingo Gardens community are will benefit from a park that has been outfitted to take advantage of every opportunity for children to shine.  Residents in all areas who utilize the parks mostly take the opportunity to do jogg

ing or playing basketball, while the children have fun on the playground – that is, if their park is not in a state of disrepair.

Member of Parliament for the Carmichael Constituency, Dr. Daniel Johnson, wanted his constituents to have more, and it has started with the Flamingo Gardens Park.  Dr. Johnson recognized that there are so many children who are very talented in various sporting disciplines, who are not having the opportunity to develop their talents due to a lack of facilities available.  Therefore, he launched a community park project this week, which will allow students of Gerald Cash and residents in the area to take advantage of their park in ways which were once unavailable.

The basketball park has been properly paved and rims secured.  Large flood lights have been installed to keep every area of the park lit during the night hours.  The soccer field has been manicured and is ready to host scrimage matches.  The tennis court has been resurfaced and properly equipped to house the dreams of future Marks and Serenas.  The pond has been cleaned of large amounts of debris, and is now a wonderful sanctuary for birds and fish.  The baseball field has also been equipped and is ready for hosting games.  The runner’s path is free and clear for a smooth run.  Aspiring boxers will enjoy the ring that exists for them, as well as learning from the expertise of two time boxing gold medallist for the Bahamas, Leevan Hinsey.  Karate and Judo will also be hosted at the newly outfitted Flamingo Gardens Park.

In addition, the building on the park which was once known in the area as “the crack house”, has been renovated and turned into a proper facility for manning the park, hosting events, and for locker rooms and showers.

Dr. Johnson visited Gerald Cash Primary this week to give the students encouragement for back-to-school, while making the announcement.  Students at Gerald Cash will now be able to learn new sporting disciplines during physical education classes.  Members of the various sporting federations are also on board and will assist P.E. teachers in executing the classes.  They will also be available by request for the community classes.

Gerald Cash Primary Principal Cozetta Johnson thanked Dr. Johnson for this major contribution, and said it would go a long way in fostering new talents and honing new skills in her students.
Dr. Johnson is seeking to make this park a beacon for community development and unity, as not only will it serve sporting events, but will also be the home for community festivals, concerts, and other events.

During the special assembly held to make the announcement, the crowd was treated to the sounds of the Gerald Cash Rake n’ Scrape band.  Led by the school’s music teacher Mr. Adams, the band returned to school from summer vacation with his praises being sung for them, after receiving a standing ovation while attending the Cat Island Rake n’ Scrape festival over the summer.  Dr. Johnson said the young rake n’ scrapers did so well that they actually became the stars of the show in Cat Island.

Director of Culture, Dr. Linda Moxey Brown was on hand for the assembly, and expressed her delight at how professional the children sounded as they played the goat skin drums and raked the saw as their schoolmates sang.

She called for every school in New Providence to follow suit: “Every child, I don’t care who they are, should be well rounded in their culture as well as their education matters.  You cant just learn math, English, geography and all that other good stuff and not know how to shoot marble, fly a kite, play ring play, sing our old time Bahamian songs do the quadrille dance.  All of these things are important in the development of every child in the Bahamas.”

Director of Youth, Darron Turnquest, is hopeful that the facilities at the Flamingo Gardens Park will benefit the young people in the area, in addition to the children who will take advantage of the classes in school.  He is now thinking of ways to utilize the park with even more youth programs.