SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Located three miles north of Balaclava in rugged, mountainous terrain on the fringes of the Cockpit Country in north-eastern St Elizabeth, the ironically named Roses Valley is among Jamaica’s more remote communities.

For the Reverend Nevin Powell, who left the community as a child three decades ago, eventually migrating to the United States, Roses Valley has been like a homing beacon in his mind, constantly calling.

“For years it really bugged me; I would be doing volunteer work (in the United States) and I would be thinking about (Roses Valley and Jamaica), thinking, what can I do? How can I help?” he told Jamaica Observer Central.

He would eventually discuss it with friends and members of his church, Unity Fellowship. And that’s how it all started two years ago, with the first Unity Fellowship medical mission coming to Roses Valley in 2015 to provide free health care including medical checks, pap smear and, prostate tests, HIV tests and counselling, blood pressure tests, blood sugar screenings, dental checks et al.

When Observer Central visited last month to witness the 2016 Unity Fellowship medical mission at work on the first day of the three-day event, scores of people were lined up or milling around awaiting attention from volunteer doctors, nurses and other medical specialists.

Powell and Errol Durrant, who acts as a volunteer ‘liaison person’ between the USA and Jamaican operations of the volunteer project, said the response over the three days looked set to be even better than in 2015.

Fourteen volunteers, including doctors and nurses, had come from the USA for the three days of “giving”. According to Durrant, they had “paid their way to come down, paid for hotel, paid for their food… eager to work for Jamaica and to help Jamaicans”.

His wife, Dr Debra Durrant, who works as a medical doctor for a major company in Florida, spoke of the many medical “needs” among the local population not just for hands-on medical care, but also for counselling regarding lifestyle, including proper diet.

Dr Durrant spoke of one “relatively young woman” who had lost toes because of diabetes. That, she argued, would most likely not have happened with proper diet and best practices.

The overseas contingent was matched by local medical volunteers numbering about 40, including doctors and nurses. Most of the local contingent were scheduled to visit Roses Valley on the second day of the health fair, Durrant said. Local companies, including Victoria Mutual and Mandeville-based pastry specialist, Heavenly Delight, had given support he said.

Those seeking help included residents of neighbouring Balalcava and Comfort Hall as well as communities in south Trelawny.

Powell concedes that the volunteer project is a “lot of work and costs a lot of money” but he plans to get it done every year “with God’s help”.