... Prisoner training, boost to agriculture curriculum
SINCE 2008, hundreds of prisoners have been reintroduced into the community as productive citizens after receiving training, with assistance from Food for the PoorJamaica, in automechanics, carpentry and welding, among other profitable business options.
The charity has also recognised the importance of agriculture to Jamaica’s economy by helping small farmers with training and providing seeds, tools and other supplies.
In 2017, FFP Jamaica completed 29 agricultural projects in schools islandwide, including beekeeping, animal husbandry, pig, sheep and goat rearing, gardening and 20 school greenhouses.
They recently boosted the agricultural science curriculum at Glengoffe High School in St Catherine, thanks to the donation of a chicken coop, a slaughter house, 100 layer birds, 100 broiler birds, farm tools and equipment, and a freezer for storage.
Since 2013, the charity has built more than 4,000 houses for needy persons. This year will mark the fourth staging of FFP’s annual 5K walk/run on May 12 at Emancipation Park.
Thanks to the generosity of businesses and individual donors in Jamaica and overseas, FFP-Jamaica has built more than 170 homes, impacting the lives of more than 500 people during the last three years of the 5K event.
In addition to building homes, the charity also builds and refurbishes basic schools across the island. It recently spearheaded the reconstruction of the Wortley Home for Girls in St Andrew, which was destroyed by fire in 2015.
“What started out as a little space in a warehouse has grown to become the largest charity organisation in Jamaica,” FFP Jamaica Executive Director David Mair said.
“Our method of helping those in need is simply an act of asking clergy and missionaries, working directly with the poor, ‘What do you need?’ and then supplying the needed items,” Mair said. “This method assures us that the goods are delivered directly and quickly to those who need them most.”