Kingston Church of Christ volunteers, Charles Town Maroons treat community elders

YEARS AGO, Frank Lumsden, colonel of Charles Town Maroon village, wanted his niece, Nomali Lumsden-Campbell, a music educator, to contribute in a significant way to the annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival.

Colonel Lumsden passed in 2016 before Lumsden-Campbell could make her contribution. And, for many reasons, it did not happen until at the recent 14th iteration of the event.

“When he died, I remember standing over his body and thinking that I want to show some love to the community, and so, this year, I put that to Michael (her uncle) and I think I was able to put it to him pretty early at that point where you know he could actually jump on it. When I put it to him, he said that it sounded great. They were also planning to have a ‘Comm-Unity Day’, so it seemed to fit in right with the ‘Comm-Unity Day’,” Lumsden-Campbell explained.

“I met with family members from the Lumsden family. I had meetings with them to get their ideas. They were very helpful in sort of shaping it and helping to source the sponsorship and to give sponsorship.”

So, the Lumsden family, especially Richard and Michael Lumsden, and Matthew Goffe, who are also members of the Charles Town Maroon Council, were integral in getting the idea germinated, but Lumsden-Campbell took on the mantle of main coordinator, putting the planning team together, following up with sponsors, supervising the collection and packaging of the items for the goodies baskets, coordinating the volunteers and different activities on the day.

The initiative got donations from at least three individuals, and corporate sponsorship. The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) gave a “substantial contribution”, which was “the major cash contribution”. LASCO contributed medical supplies, many items came from Grace, and MegaMart donated two cakes.

In addition to Lumsden-Campbell and her personal assistant, Antoinette Brown, there were about 20 volunteers, mostly members of her church, Kingston Church of Christ (KCC); and family members, including her mother and mother-in-law. There was also a doctor, Carla Mullings, who travelled from Kingston and ran a small clinic. Between 25 and 30 people assisted. A week prior to the event, another group from KCC had gone to package the goodies that were donated.

Upon their arrival at the venue, age-appropriate music was played, and the KCC volunteers served them a hot drink, juices, and sandwiches. A medical team from Port Antonio Medical Centre was present, for obvious reasons. The JSIF held an exciting colouring book competition for elders and youths, for which prizes were donated by JSIF.

Lunches and refreshments, courtesy of the Charles Town Maroons, were served. The Maroons also provided transportation for the volunteers. Colonel Marcia Douglas and others engaged them in conversations about ‘old-time sayings’ by the parents and grandparents and the meaning of those sayings. The goodie baskets were received, as well as utility bags provided by the JSIF.

In giving a general assessment of how the outreach manifested, Lumsden-Campbell said, “I think it went very well. I know the volunteers enjoyed the time there. There was a lot of hospitality shown by the committee, and so I think they enjoyed it. They got to go to the river afterwards, and you know that was nice. And then I think the elders enjoyed themselves as well.

“My only issue would be that I didn’t see as many of the community members. However, I think the elders who came enjoyed themselves, as well as the volunteers, and I think things ran fairly smoothly. My assessment is that it was excellent.”

And will it be a one-off endeavour? “We’re hoping that it can be something that can now become a part of what happens at the Charles Town conference. It seems as if the planning team would like to continue and I would like it to continue, as well. So I would say no, it’s not a one-off. It looks as if we have gotten some momentum started, and we would love it to be an annual thing,” Lumsden-Campbell shared.