Dear Editor,

Living in the interior is a very wonderful experience; there are lots of places to explore, especially those such as Port Kaituma or Matthew’s Ridge. There is beautiful landscape with many different species of birds and animals. There is lots of fruit and fish and also attractive waterfalls and rapids, while the cold water of the creeks makes you feel healthy, wealthy and wise.

Most of the people made their living for many years by mining gold, until the arrival of the Manganese and the Russian companies. The presence of these two companies brought people from many parts of the country to work and settle. The older folks who have resided here at Matthew’s Ridge for many years are very friendly, and accept new faces in the area. The majority of the older residents still cling to their gold-mining  activities and will not give them up for anything.

They also do a little farming on a small scale; the demand is always there for fresh greens and provisions. One farmer told me he has to walk for miles to reach his farm because of the cattle that walk around during the day and night and intrude on their kitchen garden in the village. Another resident told me he is quite ok with everything except when there is no water or something else does not please the community.

He told me it is only two years ago that they started to receive potable water; lights are provided by the people themselves with a simple generator. Crime in this area is at a minimum, except for the far-flung areas.

The people here are fairly religious, although the Catholic Church is not as popular as it was years ago. There is another denomination.

There is little in the way of sports and games in the area to occupy the youths in the afternoon; no cricket, no volleyball, no table tennis. Only a few may go to the community centre ground in the afternoon to improve on their football skills. The ground itself is not properly kept, and I cannot recognize the pitch I used to play on many years ago. I would like the Minister of Sport and the sports organizers of the region to offer some assistance to this particular area and bring some sort of respectability to sports here. This will have to happen through the regional administration in Region One with the help from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

The community centre needs a facelift to bring things back to normality like years ago. I was encouraged to write this letter by many people, especially a young female who seems to be very enthusiastic about sports and would get the young ladies in action in a few disciplines, especially those who are in school.

Yours faithfully,
Michael Hope