Nurses urged to help develop profession

KINGSTON — Regional director of the Caribbean Nurses Organisation (CNO), Edith Allwood-Anderson has urged the country’s nurses to work to build a true and lasting foundation for the development of the profession.

She challenged nurses to ‘sew seeds today in every area of nursing’. “Once this is done, the seed would grow, flourish and bear fruit,” she said.

The regional director was addressing nurses at the Founders Day awards ceremony hosted by the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) in collaboration with the Lasco Group of Companies, at Mary Seacole House in Kingston recently.

She also told the nurses to work towards completing the Nurses Retirement Centre on Seymour in Kingston by December this year.

“Everyone must make it our mission to allow for the completion of this legacy. It must be completed and fully in commission by December 2002,” she said, while volunteering to donate $100,000 toward the project.

The regional director also applauded the involvement of corporate Jamaica in assisting the NAJ both financially and materially. She added, “When it came to sustained support, corporate Jamaica was always there to rub the shoulders of nurses.”

Representatives from seven corporate entities were given tokens of appreciation at the ceremony. These entities included Mead Johnson, Victoria Mutual Building Society, Blue Cross of Jamaica, Johnson & Johnson and Federated Pharmaceuticals.

Knox principal to deliver Emancipation lecture

KINGSTON — The principal of Knox College, Rev Dr Gordon Cowans will be the presenter of this year’s ninth renewal of the annual Churches Emancipation Lecture.

The lecture and accompanying cultural presentation will be held on Sunday, July 28, at Webster Memorial United Church, 53 Half Way Tree Road, in Kingston, starting at 4:00 pm.

It is one of the activities to mark Jamaica’s freedom from slavery and the continuing struggle for emancipation from all forms of bondage. The theme of the annual lecture series is Emancipation — The Lesson and the Legacy. This year’s lecture by Rev Dr Cowans will be entitled “Emancipation and Spirituality”.

The lecture will provide a historical and global context for interpretation of the term ‘spirituality’ and will address to the need for a spiritual and cultural re-awakening as a response to the needs of Jamaica. The annual lecture will be accompanied by music and other artistic expressions by a selection of dancers, drummers, choirs and musical groups drawn from within the member churches hosting the event.

The host churches include Boulevard and Bethel Baptist churches, St Mary Virgin Anglican Church and Webster Memorial Church

Health dept gets help in mosquito eradication

MAY PEN, Clarendon — The Clarendon Health Department has received equipment and supplies valued at over $20,000 from the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo) to help in the parish’s mosquito eradication programme.

The supplies were handed over this week at a presentation ceremony held at the Clarendon Parish Council in May Pen.

Vernon Webster, chief public health inspector at the Clarendon Health Department, said the supplies included 20 drums or 5,445 litres of bunker sea oil, which will be mixed with diesel oil and deposited in stagnant water, which are prime breeding grounds for mosquito.

In addition six chemical respirators, two compressed spray containers and nine pairs of water boots were handed over.

“This represents significant savings to our department in the execution of our mosquito eradication programme, which is very necessary at this time when we consider the large bodies of stagnant or swampy water remaining after the recent May-June flood rains,” he said.