Cooreville Gardens woman rallies neighbours to repair dangerous community potholes

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A woman from Cooreville Gardens has stepped forward to lead a volunteer-driven effort to repair potholes blighting roads in her neighbourhood, drawing in fellow residents who agreed to lend a hand.

Maureen Gordon told Observer Online that the spark for the project came on a rainy night when she heard the sound of a vehicle striking one of the craters from inside her home.

"Actually, I came by the other night when the rain was falling, and I heard 'blum' when I was in my living room and when I realised that somebody fell in there and, you know, the tyre burst. So I looked at it the following day and said I'm going to help. That's how I started out," Gordon said.

She explained that she diverted materials originally bought for repairs at her own property to start patching the road before official crews arrived.

"I went to get those materials for my place to fix, and I'm utilising it before the man even turn up. We have to live for each other. We are all a chain link. Some people don't understand that whatever I do, I do from my heart," she continued.

According to Gordon, drivers and people walking through the area have praised the volunteers for taking the initiative.

"It is beneficial because it not only ago affect me but residents who use the main road, and many times people a pass and nuh know say you have a pothole during the rain, and dem vehicle damage. To alleviate such things, we decide to do a thing and patch out what we can," she said.

(Video: Llewellyn Wynter)