Listen to Gary(Need help?)
I'm the Community First coordinator for Penywaun which is about a mile away from the town centre of Aberdare.
My job is to work with the people who live in the community to try and put together a community action plan to make the place a better place for everybody to live.
I think I'd like to see some new businesses appear, so that there would be lots more opportunities, especially for the young people in the area - to improve their skills and their talents.
I like Aberdare. I think it's a really pretty place. I love the countryside and the scenery all around it. I think it's got quite an attractive town centre, which is about to be improved.
I like the Dare Valley Country Park. There's plenty of places to go walking. It's got a leisure centre for sports.
Above all, I think a lot of the local people are real characters. All in all I think it's a really good place.
Interviewed and edited by Julia Pittard of Blaengwawr School
your comments
We're making some changes to the sites shortly and although this form will be closing, you will have other opportunities to contribute on our new-look site.
Steve, Penywaun
I think we should have more activties to do in our local village because we have a skate park which never gets used and we also have an Astroturf which is damaged and we can't use that any more. So I would like to say can you try and sort some thing out! Thanks.
Rhian Evans, Penywaun
I live in Penywaun and I'm sick of people running it down all the time. I lived here now for 21 years, which is all of my life and I think it's great. If people lived here or just give it a chance they would have a different perspective. We are a good community and everybody knows everybody. We might have had some setbacks with all the crime and drugs but since the Cana Centre and F.A.D.S has opened they have helped to put the estate right, it might not be perfect but I like it and I'm sure I speak on everyone's behalf when I say this. So to people who don't live in Penywaun and don't like it, you don't know what it's really like so please don't knock it.
Sarah
I think a lot should be done for the community and the people of the community all should be involed young and old. I agree Aberdare is a nice town, with a park and the leisure centre, but there should be more locally in places like Penywaun, Cwmbach to keep kids off the streets. When I was younger there was only the youth club open 2 nights a week, which is better than nothing, but they sholud be open every night by volunteers perhaps aged 18 - 25 (or older) so they are closer age to the younger people, and get along better. They should hold fund-raising events and stuff to raise money to buy certain equipment e.g. games, T.V, Computers etc, for the youth club.
