JONIQUE GAYNOR, Staff Reporter
A massive clean-up is being done on the May Pen cemetery in Kingston. This work started in May. - NORMAN GRINDLEY
THE MAY PEN Cemetery is currently undergoing a major overhaul. Members from the surrounding communities of Denham Town, Trench Town, Rema and Tivoli and others, will all get a chance to help in the project designed to bring the cemetery back to an acceptable condition.
When THE STAR visited the cemetery, several workers were seen weeding and clearing the land. Efforts were also being made to clear the paths between graves so it would be easier for relatives to find the graves of their loved ones.
Field Officer with the Kingston and St.Andrew Corporation, Xavier Chevannes, told THE STAR that the project was one which they had been working on for some time, but had just received the funds to get it started. Funds for the project were sourced from the Lift Up Jamaica Foundation, from the central government and from various private sector entities.
The project started on May 19 and is expected to last until August. All the surrounding communities (110 residents) are expected to take part in the project and the cemetery is being spilt in half to accommodate residents from both sides.
According to Chevannes, the next phase will see work being done on the grills and on the cemetery chapel. The Urban Development Corporation will fund this. The pauper's section of the cemetery will also be repaired and skulls that are out of place will be buried.
The project will seek to restore the cemetery to its former landmark status. Chevannes also said there were "a lot of burial spaces, but people don't want to use them. Also there are a lot of graves being made in the roadways and we're trying to get away from that."
Work begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m., and the workers are paid $1,000 daily. Chevannes added that so far, the work was done without disturbance.
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