GoodHeart | NCU launches ‘Go Day’ to empower vulnerable communities
Published:Saturday | May 18, 2024 | 12:09 AMKeisha Hill/ Senior Gleaner Writer
Northern Caribbean University (NCU), as a Seventh-day Adventist-owned institution continues to find ways in which the organisation integrates faith and learning into their service to the community. NCU in aligning its strategic goals with the world church theme of ‘I Will Go’ has conceptualised an initiative ‘Go Day’ that has sought to improve the lives of others, as they remain committed to biblical principles and values.
“Our goal for Go Day for this academic year 2023-24 was to empower, educate and uplift marginalised and vulnerable populations within the community. All our projects for this year therefore coalesced around the theme of empowerment and education,” Sharpe said.
Each department at NCU was asked to identify their own projects and to register them with the CSR Committee, or they could participate in the university-wide identified projects.
“We aimed at forging mutually beneficial partnerships with people we know we can help and with people who need our help. We also looked for entities who partnered with us; opening up their sites to facilitate our students on internships and so forth. Given our expertise matrix, who would benefit from our assistance and who indicated a need, the CSR committee decided to look within the parishes where there is an NCU campus and to identify those marginalised groups in need of our help and who we had the resources to help,” she added.
In the parish of Manchester, the Ebenezer Rehabilitation Centre, Kendal Primary and Infant School, Hanbury Home, Hanbury Home Community Centre, Women’s Centre and the Cross Keys High School were all beneficiaries.
The Division of Student Services donated toiletries, adult pampers, disinfectant, and bleach to the Ebenezer Rehabilitation Centre. Meanwhile, lecturers and staff from the College of Business and Management spent a day teaching at Kendal Primary and Infant School. The Math Department sent specialists to help grades 5 and 6 with difficult concepts, and administrative staff worked with the kindergarten classes.
“The men from the School of Religion and Theology were outstanding! They tackled the beautification of the school doing mainly painting and de-bushing. The dental hygiene students, led by the chair of their department, did an excellent job of cleaning the teeth of the grade one and kindergarten students. They also distributed dental care packages funded by the NCU dental students. The dental students did dental hygiene sessions with the other classes throughout the day. UNISS also donated a computer and the behavioural science students played games and told stories,” Sharpe proudly shared.
At Hanbury Home, the dietetics and nutrition team supported the period poverty project by donating sanitary napkins. Students and lecturers made the presentation, while various departments, including the UNISS provided gifts, books, care packages, and two computers. The College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Allied Health, and Nursing donated trees and plants to create a garden at the Hanbury Community Centre. At the Women’s Centre, the university’s registrar led devotional exercises, health talks, and affirmations, and donated toiletries. Student teachers specialising in literacy assisted classes at Cross Keys High School.