Two weeks ago parents refused to send their children to school because of the sad state of the building. Government has since promised to build a new school for the area. From Caratal, villagers travel to San Fernando to shop and attend to other business. There are no health centres or community centres in the village. Most of the community meetings are held under the houses of villagers.
Religion plays an important part in village life.
There are several small Christian churches, the largest being the Church of Discipleship, which is administered by Phillipa Joseph. The Christian movement in the village encompasses people of different ethnic groups. For many years, the Caratal Players, under the direction of Ermine Williams, have been successful in winning several prizes in the Prime Minister s Best Village contest. This group of choral and dramatic enthusiasts are among the leading groups of African performers in the country.