Officials from the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) are doing their part to assist in the community by completely renovating and rededicating a park in Cynthia “Mother” Pratt’s honour over the weekend.

Back in April, Mrs. Pratt called the media because she noticed some work going on in the park.

At that time, she was told that BTC workers were about to install a cell tower which she felt would be dangerous for the children who use the park for play and recreation. The former deputy prime minister called BTC CEO Geoff Houston who promised that the tower would not be erected and that his company would adopt the park.

On Saturday, the park was rededicated in Mrs. Pratt’s honour during a small ceremony.

“This park is so important to us, to the community,” Mrs. Pratt said.

“These children will have a park where they can come and develop as positive Bahamians. You see you must understand that a park is very vital to the development of inner city kids. Many of these children find refuge in the park, not in the home. Some children are glad to run from home because here is where they find a friend to encourage them and positive things to do.”

She also recounted her personal experiences from growing up in the inner city.

“Many of us who have come from the inner city know that if it had not been for the park we would not know where we would be today,” Mrs. Pratt said.

“I was one of those people who grew up in the park. I came to the park because I had a friend who would buy a loaf of bread and Tropi-Cola and once I came here I would get a meal. I would play basketball from sun up to sun down. My parents didn’t know where I was. My mother was a straw vendor, so she was always in the market trying to make a dollar because she had 16 children. I was the thirteenth.”

Mr. Houston said the rededication of the park was a “proud moment” for him.

“What we do in providing improved voice connections or faster internet connections is not important if we cannot provide the most important connection of all with the people we serve,” he said

“We are proud to present the new park, providing a place where people can come together and feel a part of something bigger, something that binds them. Parks are where we find friendship or activity or peace or a sense of belonging.”

The BTC CEO told those gathered for the ceremony, however, that finding suitable sites for cell towers is a constant challenge.

“Everyone wants good mobile service but no one wants to give up private land,” he said.

“In New Providence alone we have nearly 100 cell sites. That is what it takes for consistent, uninterrupted high speed voice and data service on mobile devices. For every one of those sites, we had to find suitable property. Some day there may be a simpler way to do it, but today, it is cell towers and cell towers require placement in highly populated communities where there is a high demand for service. It was not that we were negligent in construction location, but we were certainly wrong in not letting anyone know what we were planning to do or why or that it would be safe. And your reaction was swift. This was your park.”

BTC spent $70,000 refurbishing the park.

They also donated 10 new basketballs to Mother Pratt.

Mr. Houston also explained that BTC will continue to adopt more parks in inner city communities.