Channels of Hope strives to make a difference in Rocky Point

Eileen Osbourne and her team are channelling hope in the Clarendon fishing village of Rocky Point through the Channels of Hope (COH) foundation. The organisation was officially launched two Fridays ago, alongside the official opening of the Percival Plummer Library and Resource Centre on the facility’s grounds in Rocky Point.

Osbourne said the foundation, founded in 2020, is geared towards reversing the social decline in the southeastern Clarendon community.

“The citizens of Rocky Point need to [have] hope again. Residents have been struggling to overcome issues such as persistent poverty, illiteracy, teenage pregnancy, crime, and a myriad of other destroying experiences,” said Osbourne.

The programme currently has some 120 students registered. Osbourne, a trained teacher, told The Gleaner that she has a team who work with her to facilitate teaching the children weekly.

Osbourne said many social interventions had been employed in Rocky Point over the years, but failed because “none has been truly sustainable, or has dealt with the root cause of the problems that exist,” Osbourne added.

She asserted it was on that premise that her team embarked on utilising varied strategies to effect change, and target various groups.

HOMEWORK ASSISTANCE

The programme has seen students benefiting from homework assistance and school grants, donations to healthcare workers and facilities, and business grants to small business owners.

Clover Brown, a shop operator and mother of six, said the programme was boosting her business. Brown, who also rears chickens, told The Gleaner that she was also gifted chickens, feed, and building material for her home expansion. She described COH as “the best thing to happen in Rocky Point”.

Brown also lauded the opening of the library, which she said has seen many children being positively engaged during their spare time.

“A whole heap a likkle pikney deh ‘bout weh cyaa read or write, and instead [of] dem run up an down pan the beach, dem come a di library a daytime,” said Brown.

The library was started in honour of a late community stalwart and advocate, Percival Plummer. Plummer’s granddaughter, Joanna Ewbanks, who attended the ceremony virtually, said the late Plummer had a knack for community service and education.

“He loved his family, and community, and always wanted people in his community to not only live, but to thrive. Rocky Point lacked educational resources, and space where children of all ages could put their hands on a good book. When children are able to read and self-educate, it opens up a world they never knew before,” said Ewbanks.

Rosetta Boothe told The Gleaner that the programme has yielded great rewards in the life of her great-grandson, nine-year-old Radejha Brooks.

Speaking of the programme, Boothe told The Gleaner, “It’s very good, because he couldn’t read that much, and from the programme start he’s catching up very well.”

Boothe disclosed that little Radejha’s care was entrusted to her some five years ago when his mother died from kidney disease. Though his father does his part, she said COH has also been of great financial help in caring for Radejha.

Baldvin McKenzie , Clarendon parish manager for the Social Development Commission, lauded the COH team, describing their work as a perfect example of enacting change through partnership.