More than 1,000 St Elizabeth residents receive care packages

Albert Ferguson, Gleaner Writer

The Ministry of National Security, in partnership with J. Wray and Nephew, have come together to provide care packages to more than 1,000 residents in several St Elizabeth communities.

According to Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Mathew Samuda, the public-private partnership has helped the government to intervene and prevent violence in communities.

"There have been some problems in St Elizabeth, albeit more southerly than where we are here, but these things have a way of getting away from us. What we doing here is preventative measures where we are reaching into the communities," Samuda said while speaking with reporters on Wednesday at the J. Wray and Nephew and the Ministry of National Security 'Liv Gud' community outreach initiative at Appleton in St Elizabeth.

"It's always good when you don't go with your two long hands and that's particularly important today because we want to trigger strong relationships both between the state and it's citizens and between citizens and their neighbours," he continued.

He noted that the core message of the initiative is to get Jamaicans in St Elizabeth, and the entire country by extension, to 'Liv Gud' with each other.

Clement ‘Jimmy’ Lawrence, chairman of J. Wray and Nephew, lauded the partnership, declaring that the 'Liv Gud' outreach programme is very important to his company and that it has a long history of partnership and support for the communities within which it operates.

"These 1,000 care packages that we are handing out to the citizenry include kitchen Hubbard items as ground provisions. We as Jamaicans know our food needs support and we want to support and provide some relief and comfort to the citizenry of the area," Lawrence said.

Meanwhile, Samuda addressed concerns about the impact of the closure of Appleton Estate Sugar Factory on communities.

With the shut down, approximately 370 workers are to be made redundant.

The management of the farm will be divested to a third-party company that is expected to re-employ a significant number of the affected staff. 

"I know that there is a whole slew of interventions that are going to come in terms of how you put the lands back to use, how to instead of getting them to look for jobs, to get them to own their business and create employment, "said Samuda.

"We don't know where the dust will settle. I think the country should be clear that the government is using its surplus to protect the stability of many Jamaicans families. The We C.A.R.E programme that has been piloted through the ministry of finance during this period has targeted people who have lost their jobs because of the COVID fallout,” Samuda added.

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