200 receive care, school supplies at MoBay health fair
Published:Tuesday | September 3, 2024 | 12:09 AMAshley Anguin/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
‘Teamwork makes the dream work’ was the theme at Saturday’s back-to-school health fair at the St James Parish Church Hall in Montego Bay, St James, where charitable United States (US)-based Jamaicans, Dr Kingsley Thomas and Dr Leonard McLean, provided more than 200 men, women, and children with healthcare and back-to-school supplies.
The team that came to assist Thomas and McLean includes doctors from Thomas’s private practice, International Office of Kingsley Thomas MD, and McLean’s mother, pastor Fredricka Francis of Pentecostal Tabernacle in Orlando, Florida, who was instrumental in doing outreach work for the project.
The fair featured free medical testing for children, the handing out of school books and bags, diapers for babies, pep talks to young girls, care packages, and check-ups for the elderly, along with refreshments for everyone.
Thomas, who is originally from Montego Bay, is the chairman of the Department of Paediatrics at St Joseph’s Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan, said that he deems it important to be able to give back to his home community and that except for good human behaviour, he expects nothing in return.
“To Jamaica, I did not divorce her. I love my native land. I want to help my brothers and sisters here. I wish I could do more to help this country. My life would not be in vain,” an emotional Thomas told The Gleaner, seemingly fighting back tears.
“I don’t have too much in life to give but that of myself. I hope that the few days I have on this Earth I can continue to do whatever I have to do to make other people’s lives a little better,” added Thomas.
Thomas made it clear that the health fair was just one of several initiatives he is contemplating for St James.
KINDNESS COUNTS
At the same time, his generosity is not only focused on Jamaica as other countries have also benefited from his kindness.
“I think about how God has been good and has been helping me today. There is nothing in life as important as living, but how you live, that defines you as an individual,” said Thomas. “When I talk to these kids, I do their physical, but I want to touch their minds and tell them that tomorrow will be a better day ... .”
McLean, a general practitioner, said it was very important for him to focus on the children this back-to-school season, knowing that they would have experienced the trauma of Hurricane Beryl.
“I trust the man upstairs (God) because if hHe could do it with fish and loaves, then I am not going to worry. He will make it work out,” said McLean. “We do this because kids are the future of Jamaica. If somebody didn’t pour into me and Dr Thomas, then we wouldn’t be where we are today. We see the importance of pouring back into the children and the community. Our community needs us, and that is why we are here today.”
“We want to always focus on the school system. One of our biggest challenges is timing when we do an event. We want to make sure children are available to access the event. We are thinking big, but we must take small steps. Those small steps include reaching out to other organisations to assist us so we can make this an island thing and not just a Montego Bay thing,” added McLean.
McLean, who attended Calabar High School, in St Andrew, migrated to the US, where he studied medicine.
“I am grateful to God, seeing the turnout and response of the people of Montego Bay. Seeing my son take it on in such a big way, it gives me joy for his first outreach project,” said Francis. “As an outreach coordinator, he asked me to come in and give him a hand, and that is why I am here today. This is my drug of choice, and I have been doing this in Jamaica and other countries.”
Sancia Berry, whose children were recipients of the offerings of the health fair, said the assistance came at the right time, especially for the needy.
“It is a good thing because some people don’t have it to pay for the medical or buy a bag and the other things. It helped me tremendously because my son did his medical and my daughter collected a school bag,” said Berry.