Open the Centres. Empower the Women. Build Choiseul–Saltibus.

Jazz and Carnival may entertain us — but community centres can transform lives.

Choiseul on the Move has been very vocal about the need to reopen and fully utilize the Roblot Community Centre and other community centres across Choiseul–Saltibus.

Yet, six months into office, our district representative appears to be paying little attention to one of the most practical tools for real community development.

Let us be clear: Jazz and Carnival will not cut it. Entertainment has its place, but empowerment must be the priority.

The Women of Choiseul–Saltibus Deserve More

Across this district, women are carrying heavy burdens. Single mothers are struggling to return to work after childbirth because they have no reliable daycare support. Young women are leaving school without marketable skills. Secondary school girls need safe spaces where they can learn, grow, and prepare for life beyond the classroom.

These are not small issues. These are development issues. These are poverty issues. These are family issues. These are community issues.

The hard truth:

• Some single mothers cannot work because they have no childcare support.
• Some women have talent but no access to training.
• Some girls need mentorship before life pulls them in the wrong direction.
• Some families remain trapped because opportunity is not reaching them.

Community Centres Must Become Empowerment Centres

The Roblot Community Centre and other community centres in Choiseul–Saltibus must not remain closed, idle, or underused. These buildings should become living, breathing centres of opportunity.

Around the world, rural women are being empowered through practical skill-training programmes. These programmes help women move from dependency to income, from survival to stability, and from frustration to independence.

Programmes that can start right here:

• Agriculture and agro-processing: pepper planting, seasoning production, food preservation, packaging and sales.
• Entrepreneurship training: bookkeeping, pricing, marketing, customer service and small business planning.
• Digital skills: computer basics, online selling, social media marketing and mobile banking.
• Vocational skills: sewing, hair care, cosmetology, craft, hospitality and food service.
• Financial literacy: budgeting, saving, credit readiness and cooperative support.
• Leadership and life skills: confidence building, communication, health, hygiene and nutrition.

Daycare Support Is Not a Luxury — It Is Development

One of the biggest barriers facing single mothers is childcare. Many women want to work. Many want to train. Many want to start a small business. But after childbirth, they are left with one painful question:

“Who will watch my child while I try to build a life?”

That is where the community centres come in. A properly managed daycare programme attached to community training can give single mothers the breathing space they need to work, learn and earn.

A centre with daycare can help:

• Young mothers return to work after childbirth.
• Women attend training programmes without fear.
• Children receive early care in a safe environment.
• Families move closer to financial independence.

Our Secondary School Girls Must Not Be Forgotten

Empowerment must also reach our secondary school girls. After-school programmes can help them develop confidence, digital skills, leadership skills and career awareness.

A community centre should be a safe place where girls can receive mentorship, homework support, life-skills training, and exposure to positive role models.

If we do not prepare our girls today, we will pay the price tomorrow.

A Strong Message to the District Representative

Honourable representative, the people of Choiseul–Saltibus do not only need events. They need systems. They need programmes. They need practical support.

We cannot continue to celebrate temporary excitement while permanent solutions remain locked behind closed community-centre doors.

Open the centres.

Activate the programmes.

Empower the women.

Protect the girls.

Support the single mothers.

This is not about politics. This is about people. This is about development. This is about the future of Choiseul–Saltibus.

We have the buildings. We have the need. We have the women. We have the talent. We have the young girls waiting for guidance. What we need now is leadership with urgency.

The time for excuses has passed. The time for action is now.

Choiseul women are ready.

Our girls are ready.

Our communities are ready.

Our leadership must be ready too.

No fluff. No bluff. Just facts.