ROSE HEIGHTS, St James–The Rose Heights United Full Gospel Church of God in collaboration with the Florida based Christian Worship Centre is using sports to divert the youths from crime in this often volatile community.

” Many of the gangsters have died but I believe the survivors had a certain amount instinct which we can transform into something more positive,” said Pastor Lewin of the Christian Worship Centre.

During Sunday’s worship service at Rose Heights, Lewin handed over US$500 of the $US2,000 his church has pledged towards the rehabilitation of the community playing field.

” My mission is to revive the Rose Heights community that was a part of my life as a child growing up. Several years ago I was saddened by the state of this community– the violence in particular, along with the high incidence of diseases such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases,” Lewin noted. “So last year we implemented a soccer tournament and during that time there was a significant decrease to the gang violence in the community. Now we want to expand the programme. We feel we can begin to rebuild the community centre and put them in a position to collect at the gates,” he said.

The proceeds from the gate receipts will go towards the construction of a basic school or any other necessary amenities in the community, Lewin proposed.

Pastor Lewin, who now lives in Miramar, USA, was a member of the Cornwall College daCosta Cup football unit in the late 1970’s, when he was known as ‘Bobby Lou’. He won a scholarship to University of Western Illinois in 1978, where he received his Bachelors in Health Science. He returned to Jamaica in 1982 and worked with the Ministry of Health before returning to the US to work with the Florida Department of Health as an operations manager.

Lewin expressed hope that upon completion of the construction of a concrete wall around the field, water which generally settles on the field when it rains, will be diverted.