‘Community is very important to us’

For Sashelle James, a mother of two, the free back-to-school fair was a lifesaver. Hosted on Thursday by the Spring Village Development Foundation (SVDF) and the Jamaica Broilers Group under its The Best Dressed Chicken brand, James’ heart was full.

She and her children were treated to free eye examinations, as well as dental and medical checkups. Services she could not have otherwise afforded.

“I really need the help to get my 12-year-old son what he needs for school,” James told The Gleaner, expressing her appreciation to the organisers of the fair, which was held at the Spring Village community centre.

The mother was one of many parents from the St Catherine communities of McCook’s Pen, Spring Village and Freetown who took advantage of all the free services on offer at the fair, as they wanted to make sure their kids were healthy and set for the upcoming academic year a few weeks away.

Anna-Kay Green, public relations officer at Jamaica Broilers, informed The Gleaner that the company, which has operations in Spring Village and McCook’s Pen, was staging the annual fair for the third time.

The event also featured a number of booths, as the company partnered with several entities.

“This is our community; this is our backyard. Community is very important to us. We created partnerships to do as much as we could,” she said.

Green noted that approximately 700 vouchers valued at $7,500 would be issued to individuals within proximity to the operations of the company, and over 100 vouchers valued at $15,000 will be issued to top performing students in the different communities.

BREAKING GENERATIONAL POVERTY

The National Council on Drug Abuse; the Registrar General’s Department; the Ministry of Justice’s child diversion department; the Passport, Immigration & Citizenship Agency (PICA); and the South Eastern Regional Health Authority (SERHA) were among the exhibitors offering their services.

SVDF’s executive director, Randy Finnikin, shared that the foundation was committed to helping families, especially through its community transformational programme, which will mark its 27th anniversary in November.

“Our organisation is holistic, it has youth at its core with education as the central plank for development and to transform the families,” he said.

This is the reason for the back-to-school fair, he said, that also entails awarding scholarships to approximately 35 to 45 high-achieving youths, ranging from primary to tertiary level.

Finnikin said the foundation has been assessing the needs of the youths in the community and, as a result, launched the primary school transition programme in partnership with Living Hope Jamaica (LHJ), which will also include parents who are in need of support.

“It’s all about breaking generational poverty through education, through support, through access for services,” he said.

He said the SVDF’s youth engagement programmes will be expanded by the partnership with LHJ, a non-profit organisation that uses education and social intervention to enhance the lives of individuals, families, and communities, which will be working with girls in particular.

Finnikin noted that LHJ had a “refreshing” and “innovative” perspective on things.

“At every contact point with a child, we try to include their parents because we realise that a child doesn’t grow themselves, it’s the parents that create the home environment, so we can’t be doing and saying one thing over here and it’s not being done in the home,” Finnikin explained.

Overall, it was an enjoyable day for the parents and children who were treated to refreshments and entertaining rides.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com