LATEST NEWS:
News
Help for St Catherine's seniors
Sponsor-A-Grandparent programme reaps rich dividends for the aged
BY TANEISHA MUNDLE Sunday Observer staff reporter editorial@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, July 05, 2009
SENIOR citizens in some of St Catherine's poor and crime-plagued communities as well as in rural sections of the parish are finding ways to survive and improve their quality of life, thanks to the Sponsor-A-Grandparent Progamme.
 |
| PIOUS... since we started in May 2008, about 100 senior citizens have benefitted directly |
The programme was initiated 11 years ago by Help Age International and has been positively impacting the lives of the elderly through partnership with two St Catherine-based organisations - Children First and the St Catherine Community Development Agency. It is funded by Help Age International through private donations.
Patrice Pious, project officer at Children First, said that the programme has an income-generating component in chicken rearing. It sees seniors citizens aged 55 years old and over selected and trained in poultry-rearing and then presented with chickens and six weeks worth of feed.
"After that, we encourage them to use the funds to buy more chickens or to start other businesses," Pious told the Sunday Observer. "Since we started in May 2008, about 100 senior citizens have benefitted directly and another 500 persons have befitted indirectly in Central Village and Rivoli communities."
She added that they did their best to ensure that their efforts benefitted those most in need.
"We try our best to assist the most vulnerable and needy. Like those who can't rear chickens, and are probably bedridden, we provide them with food packages every six months," Pious said. "The programme in and of itself is a wholesome project. It is not just about finding the money to help them financially or to take care of their medical needs. We try to cater to their social needs, so we have yearly outings so that the seniors can enjoy themselves as well."
The Children First project officer noted that a lot of the seniors had been able to open bank accounts, send their grandchildren to school, make minor repairs to their homes, buy medication and open insurance schemes - all as a result of the programme.
 |
| WILLIAMS... when I got the cheque I was so happy |
Melard Anderson, a member of Children First and one of the senior citizens involved in the poultry-rearing scheme, said that it has benefitted him greatly even as it keeps him occupied.
"I eat some (of the chicken) and keep the rest to keep the business going. It's a good thing, once you have the love for and interest in it," he told the Sunday Observer. "For some of them (seniors), a it (the chickens) make them happy for some don't have no one, so a it them talk to and play with."
Melly Richards, president of the St Catherine Community Development Agency, said that besides chicken-rearing, the elderly people in her programme can also rear another animal of their choice. They are also given money throughout the year which means a lot to them, she said.
"We also assist them with repairs to their homes, and we also have a doctor that they see at least three times per year," Richards said.
Rhoda Fraser, who has benefitted from repairs to her one-bedroom home which she shares with her three grandsons, ages 12, 19 and 20, hardly had words to express her gratitude when she spoke to the Sunday Observer.
"I am very thankful (for the prograame). I can hardly tell you how I feel," she said, pointing to the new sheets of ply board that were used to restore her humble abode in the Deeside community.
Stephan Williams, who got help to continue her business, also had high praise for the programme.
"At the time when I got the help, things were really slow for me. My stall was running down. When I got the cheque I was so happy, it was the first time in all my life that I had got any help from an organisation, so I was very grateful," she said, while standing beside her well-stocked stall in the Bog Walk market.
"Right now because of my selling, I can help my two grandsons. I send them to school and pay my bills," she added, smiling.
Since 1998, the St Catherine Community Development Agency/Help Age International partnership has helped some 2,000 senior citizens - about 400 of them on a yearly basis - in the communities of Brown Hall, Deeside, Princess Field, Springvale, Content and Gibilatora.
Both Richards and Pious have commended the programme for coming to the rescue of the senior citizens, some of whom are not pensioners and have no family support. But they are concerned that they are not getting any support from Jamaican sponsors and fear that if Help Age International pulls out of Jamaica, the programme will collapse.
Anyone who wishes to contribute to the programme can contact the St Catherine Community Development Agency at 708-2391 or e-mail sacdajm@cwjamaica.com or Children First at 984-0034 or e-mail kidz@cwjamaica.com.
Other Stories
New BOJ governor takes office a week early
Teenage girl questioned about murder of 93-y-o man
Shopping stimulus for 'Downtown'
Gov't moves to save $300m in health-care costs
Secrecy legislation being used to circumvent ATI
Police send warning to event promoters
Man who killed wife in his sleep freed
RSS Feeds