Gospel singer-song writer Claudius England has taken his ministry overseas. His Reclaimed Territory initiative is making inroads in Scotland.

“Reclaimed Territory is an international multifaceted initiative that involves community services to the prison populations, schools, and churches, which seeks to encourage and empower individuals to unearth their potential through open discussions and music programmes, with the aim of finding forgiveness in order to provide them with a sense of hope to find their inner value of self and purpose,” England told the Jamaica Observer.

“Another objective is to establish a music programme in the Rio Cobre Juvenile Centre, which will encourage the juveniles to create positive music while learning instruments with the help of efficient facilitators,” he continued.

The Reclaimed Territory initiative will be making stops in the cities of Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Shotts, Glasgow, Falkirk, and Kilmacolm.

He explained his reason for taking the project to Scotland.

“I was invited to perform at the Glasgow Melafest, where I decided to extend this time by continuing the Reclaimed Territory initiative in Scotland. After being there, meeting the people, and seeing the respect they had for my work and Jamaica, and the music, I felt inclined to continue the work there,” he said.

The initiative has been to Majesty Gardens, Allman Town, and the Metcalfe Street Juvenile Centre in Kingston, as well as Montego Bay. Plans are to take the initiative to other countries.

England spoke about the response to the initiative.

“The response has been overwhelming in Scotland, the United States and Jamaica.

According to Dorothy Russell (full-time chaplain at Her Majesty’s Prison in Shotts, Scotland): “We were truly blessed by Claudius England today and we are looking forward to tomorrow. He has been a light shining in the dark places of hopelessness, and to see the men smile and laugh was just brilliant.”

The 33-year-old England, who is originally from St James, is known for songs including Done For Me, So What andBeyond Beautiful.

In 2012, he was nominated for two Atlanta Gospel Music Awards — Best New Artiste and Most Uplifting Song (Done for Me).

To date, he has released two EPs: Youthman (2010) and Song of Songs (2014).

His forthcoming album will feature collaborations with Dean Fraser, Duane Stephenson, Rondell Positive and Ghana-based John Q.