Canadian volunteers assist Franciscan Ministries

Each year since 1993, a group of Catholic volunteers from Temiscaming, Quebec, in Canada has been visiting Jamaica to build shelter for the poor and donate cash and kind to the elderly and to places of safety under the umbrella of the Franciscan Ministries, headed by Sr Grace Yap. On this visit, four group members at a time will visit the Glenhope Place of Safety over a number of days to bring treats for the children and help the staff to care for the wards of the state.

The volunteers have already started building a house for an elderly man in Whitfield Townm who single-handedly continues to raise his five grandchildren. Last Wednesday, they started to construct another house in Riverton City for a woman and her nine children.

It’s not all work and no play for this group of 12 teens and five adults from French Canada, as they will climb Dunn’s River Falls and visit Dolphin Cove on their day off between the two building projects.

Temiscaming is a small town in western Quebec with a population of just over 2,000 residents. The volunteer group is partially funded by the Government of Quebec as well as by their own fundraising efforts. The Provincial Government of Quebec, hopes this kind of charitable activity will teach the young Quebecers the values of commitment, responsibility and a strong work ethic. For the last 26 years, the group has been facilitated in Jamaica by the Franciscan Ministries. They are based at the Immaculate Convent from where they travel to various projects in urban and rural areas, where they positively impact the lives of those in need.