Maranatha Ministries International, in association with the Olympic Gardens, Waterhouse and surrounding communities, has partnered with the St Andrew South Police in hosting a Unity Parade, tomorrow, National Heroes Day.

Agencies set to gather for the parade include the St Andrew South Police Department, the Community Safety and Security Branch, Citizen Security and Justice Programme, Rise Life Management, Waterhouse Community Development Committee (CDC), Drewsland CDC, Waltham Gardens CDC, Seivwright Gardens CDC, Seaview Gardens CDC, Olympic Gardens CDC, and Jesus in the City (Canada)

All community marches will begin at 1:00 pm, except for the one in Seaview Gardens which will start at noon at Christ the Redeemer Resource Centre and end at the intersection of Bay Farm Road and Olympic Way around 4:00 pm, at which time a Peace in the City meeting and concert will be held.

The starting points for the other marches are:

• Drewsland at the Drewsland mini-stadium;

• Waltham Gardens at the Waltham Park Road New Testament Church of God;

• Waterhouse at the Maranatha Christian Church;

• Seivwright Gardens at Dupont Primary School; and Olympic Gardens at the Civic Centre, 114 Olympic Way.

The advent is to demonstrate the value of love and unity amongst citizens in Waterhouse, Olympic Gardens, Waltham Gardens, Seaview Gardens, and Seivwright Gardens.

The announcement was made jointly by Pastor Bobby McIntosh, overseer and bishop of the Maranatha Ministries International based in Waterhouse and Olympic Gardens, Kingston 11, and Dwight Powell, Superintendent of Police in charge of Community Safety and Security for the St Andrew South Police Division at the Maranatha Ministries International Church, Henley Road, Kingston 11.

Pastor McIntosh explained that the Unity Parade, under the theme: ‘Love in Our Hearts; Peace in the City’, is postulated to help heal hurting community members and engender an atmosphere of goodwill, unity and peace, and to promote and highlight the artistic talents of the communities’ culture, entrepreneurship, and other achievements.

“What is happening here is a launch for a major parade that we are hosting for all the neighbouring communities with about six coming together to parade like a float. We are going to walk the streets of every community in these areas demonstrating the love of God and the fellowship of mankind that should permeate the very fabric of the city,” Pastor McIntosh said.

“We were planning this for the year 2018 but the Police got wind of the idea and came to us and said things have got out of hand, why can’t you do this for us this year? We have no answer at present for what is taking place in these communities even against our best efforts.

“We then sat down with the Police and came up with the date for National Heroes Day, Monday October 16 to launch this major parade. The parade is not a demonstration. We are not even demonstrating against crime. Our major objective is trying to restore peace and harmony amongst citizens that people would see others as themselves and make a valiant attempt to live with love, harmony and respect for each other in place of killing each other,” Pastor McIntosh said.

Superintendent Powell said that the scourge of violence moving through the St Andrew South jurisdiction is like fire on a cinder track and this has forced “the constabulary to turn its attention to join forces with the Church in the areas to assist in bring some sanity to the situation.

“Just recently”, he informed “two Grade 10 male students from the Edith Dalton-James High School had a fracas and one student stabbed to death the other student with a knife. This was just to heighten the type of scourge faced by in the St Andrew South Police jurisdiction,” the superintendent stated.

Superintendent Powell also indicated that “there are over 50 gangs operating in the area” under his jurisdiction.

Asked how many of those gangs were active. He responded: “Not all 50 gangs are active. We are doing a reclassification of these gangs that we have in our space. What we know is that just a percentage, maybe half, seem to be giving us a major concern at this time.”

Asked what the police was doing to reduce crime and violence in the area Superintendent Powell pointed out that the constabulary was big on social programmes leading to social intervention in the St Andrew South Police Division. “We are partnering with all state agencies USAID, Rise Life Management, CSJP and all those government programmes, the church communities, business entities, including Sanmerna Foundation and Sanmerna Paper Products, are partnering with us in the South as we seek to address the scourge of crime and violence.

“At present we have an increase in crime, especially murders. Statistically we have an increase of over 120 in murders which is a very bad trend in our space right now”, Superintendent Powell pointed out.

Focusing on the efforts of the St Andrew South Police, the business community and churches in the various areas, Pastor McIntosh said: “By this effort we are, therefore, mobilising everyone. Not surprisingly, churches in this jurisdiction have come together along with the schools, the police, the business community and all stakeholders — everyone is joining hands and hearts in a major show of unity to declare that peace, love and affection is what is needed most in these troubled areas.

“The Unity Parade is a basis to further demonstrate that these communities are not giving way to evil, evil doers and their disruptive deeds with the gun”, Pastor McIntosh stated.