By Ethan Benedicto
Local cafe owner and former council candidate, Mush Rahaman still has his eyes set on making Berwick the place to be, and with his experience during the campaign season, he is eager to once more test his mettle.
After putting up a strong fight in Akoonah Ward, Mush is determined to be the opposite of ‘taking it easy’, rather, he still aims to uphold one of his key endeavours for his campaign, fostering growth in Berwick.
This comes in the form of a town square, a plaza, a market and a digital central hub – a website called LinkedHive which Mush envisions to be the centre for every residents’ and business community concerns in the area.
“There isn’t much exposure for Berwick and Berwick Village, and we have such a rich history that we should be proud of,” he said.
“However, there has been little done to give it an identity, we have the resources in here that we can use, and the community is going to benefit from that.
“This place is self-contained, if you don’t want to go out of Berwick, you don’t have to, you don’t need to, but we need to make it better, so I’m trying to bring everyone together.”
With the web-based model set to be finalised between the end of March and early April, and an app set to hit the stores three months after that, Mush is eager to take the steps of fostering activity, both in-person and online.
While he was running during the November 2024 campaign, Mush had many things reeling in his head, but at the forefront were prosperity and safety.
In what he coined as being free from any sort of constraints, the liberty of being able to carry out his goals has been nothing short of refreshing.
The page was publicly announced on Facebook, in the Berwick Community Noticeboard which has amassed a rather large following of just over 700 followers, its title being My Berwick Village.
In the post, Mush detailed that this initiative is something that will allow local businesses to thrive, and help “strengthen connections between residents and visitors”.
“I want to bring the businesses, the people together so we can have one voice, and collectively, we can communicate with Council on what we need.
“For example, if someone wants a sports shop, they can post it on the website, same if they were thinking about a produce shop, or someone expressing that they would like more restaurants running during the night.
“These are things that can bring people into the village,” he said.
Key features of the website would be, of course, the community hub or what essentially is the main page; this will include things like an online marketplace, events, job opportunities, news and safety alerts.
There will also be a business directory, where local businesses in the village are showcased, from their services to their general profile for easy access.
There will also be a dedicated section for professional networking and a page for tourism and attractions, making it easier for those interested in visiting the village and its surroundings to view essential information.
Self-sustenance is key, with Mush using potential job alerts for things such as lawn mowing or landscaping to be tended to by other members of the community, through the website.
“For example, someone puts a job up that they need their trees cut in their backyard, and then someone who has expertise in that field can accept it, or they can match with it,” he said.
“From there both parties can agree on their terms, then the job commences and then there will also be a cover for their volunteer insurance.
“Whatever money we generate from either donations or subscriptions of the business will go towards that insurance, and then for example, if within 48 hours no one can do the job, we will source that for them.”
As a digital platform for opportunity, growth, and everyday communication, Mush sees the Facebook page as a strong start to better communication and better community coherency, with plans to be a constant in-person advocate for the project.
Speaking on his experiences with campaigning for council, Mush reflected if the path of being a leading character was really for him, but remembering that over 2600 people had voted for him, he said that it’s “very rare”.
“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved, I love these people and I want to help them, and my vision has been there for a very long time,” he said.
With information ever so quickly moving forward through the digital age, he sees the endeavour as an opportunity for change.
“There’s an essence where people don’t want to leave the character of Berwick, but we need to move forward,” Mush said.
“Yes, we don’t want change, but that does not mean everything has to stop and we can’t develop anything.
“We can change, we can moderate within certain perimeters and we can listen to the people.
“We need to understand the public sentiment, and we need to understand what the people want to see.”
In that sense, for him, there is no better way to do so than to water the seeds of a digital plaza, one that strengthens social connections and provides a platform of opportunity for all.
