Five years ago most folks didn't set foot in Winnipeg's Central Park unless they were buying or selling drugs.
But since a recent $5.5 million overhaul to the centerpiece of one of Canada's most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods - located on the outskirts of downtown Winnipeg - it's positively welcoming. However, there's still work to do.
The addition of a soccer pitch, a giant toboggan slide and the largest spray park in town were a great start, but one neighbourhood volunteer feels without its own economic development organization Central Park won't be able to reach its full potential and replace the boarded-up storefronts with a wide variety of shops.
"If we can do a consumer co-op, then we could have mixed multi-purpose businesses. We could have a restaurant where food and meals would be made by member-owners," said Raymond Ngarboui, a one-time Central Park resident who immigrated to Canada from Chad seven years ago.
"We could also have some community members get hands-on training in catering, which would help families with cooking and nutrition. Some of those families will likely become entrepreneurs."
Ngarboui said new Canadians who move to the area -- many of whom come from countries such as Nepal, Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Togo and Cameroon - need entrepreneurial training before they can go into business for themselves.
Of course, it's not all days of wine and roses. There is still crime in Central Park, but it's gone down 50 per cent in the last couple of years.
from Western Investor January 2013
