Maverley residents benefit from health services on Independence weekend

More than 120 residents of Maverley, St Andrew, poured on to the grounds of the Source community resource centre in the community on Independence weekend to access significantly subsidised health care made available through the Rotary Club of Trafalgar New Heights in partnership with the community advocacy group Voices for Jamaica and JN Small Business Loans Limited.

The service club of young professionals, for an eighth year, brought together health care providers from the University of Technology's College of Oral Health Sciences and the FISH Clinic, to provide dental and optical screening for the residents, the majority of whom were children. A medical doctor was also on hand to provide medical screening.

The club also coordinated about 30 volunteers from Voices for Jamaica, the community and its sister club, the Rotary Club of Liguanea Plains, to execute the project.

"Residents were able to get their teeth cleaned or have extractions done, and the opportunity was also there for them to have their eyes examined and even to get their back-to-school medicals done," disclosed Gareth Manning, president of the Rotary Club of Trafalgar New Heights.

The children were also provided with refreshment with support from Jamaica Broilers' Reggae Jammins brand, the National Baking Company Limited and Tastee Jamaica Limited.

"This continues to be an annual activity for our club, because we understand that accessing health care, especially during the demanding back-to-school period, can be costly and cumbersome for many parents, and there are some, especially elderly people, who are not able to travel outside of their community to access basic health care easily," he said.

"Therefore, this year, we decided to reopen the services to adults so that they could also access the services for the same subsidised cost," Manning said, noting that for the past three years, the fair benefited only children.

The services were provided to the residents for a contribution of $100.

"The fair was well-received, especially the dental care, because the neighbouring Drewsland Clinic doesn't offer that, and we were grateful for it, especially for the children," said Kathleen Douse, a resident and leader of the National Parenting Commission's initiative in Maverley.