UK charity donates two million NHS face masks to Jamaica

LONDON:

Two million face masks have been donated to Jamaica by Jarrett Foundation, in collaboration with Full Support Healthcare, a personal protection equipment supplier based in Wellingborough, Northampton. The donation is valued at £620,000 (J$130m).

Dr Pearl Jarrett, CEO of the Jarrett Foundation, said: “Previously to 2012, we had been assisting projects in The Gambia and Sierra Leone in Africa but, when Jamaica celebrated its 50th anniversary of Independence, we wanted to do something to celebrate it and we have become active members of the diaspora and always looking at ways to contribute.

“With the ongoing pandemic, the Foundation was looking for ways that we could contribute to the fight against COVID-19. We contacted Full Support Healthcare and asked them if they would donate some face masks to Jamaica, and they were happy to do so. They came back and told us they were willing to donate two million face masks in a 40ft container.

“This worked out very well because we didn’t have any warehouse space to repack the shipment of masks so the container was ready to leave their headquarters in Wellingborough. The face masks are NHS quality with CE stamps, which indicates they are manufactured under strict controls and to National Health Service standards,” Dr Jarrett said.

The shipment of masks is already en route and should arrive in Jamaica on June 10.

HANDOVER CEREMONY

The handover ceremony was held recently at Full Support Healthcare headquarters in Northampton and was attended by Jamaica’s High Commissioner to the UK, Seth George Ramocan and his wife Dr Lola Ramocan, who is patron of the Jarrett Foundation, members of the Foundation’s executives and representatives from Full Support Healthcare.

“As patron of the Foundation, I place great emphasis on quality control. We strive to be big on trust, so when we accept any donation our stamp of approval is assured. This is the case for this donation from Full Support Healthcare and it is very important that we make this be known, especially with so many fake products on the market today,” Dr Ramocan said.

HC Ramocan expressed his appreciation.

He said: “This is a very meaning full exercise for us, we don’t just see these as masks; we see them as solutions that have been brought to the country to address the issue of safety and to stem the spread of the coronavirus.”

The effort is part of Jarrett Foundation’s long association with Dr Errord Jarrett, director of the Foundation, and Sarah Fuller-Stoute, CEO of Full Support Healthcare, which goes back nearly 20 years.

Dr Pearl Jarrett said the masks are destined for the Ministry of Health & Wellness. “I will be heading to Jamaica to work with the Ministry of Health & Wellness so that it gets to the communities which need them the most. We want to ensure these masks get into the right channels as they are gifts to assist ordinary Jamaicans protect themselves.

“There is so much the Foundation wants to do for Jamaica and, after this is completed, we are just only getting started. I am on a mission where Jamaica is concerned, and this is my purpose”, she said.