JARRETT Lane, an east Kingston community that has been marred by ongoing violence in recent months, was on Sunday transformed into an atmosphere of jubilation and camaraderie when residents converged at Zion Episcopal Baptist Church to access free health checks.

The residents welcomed the health fair, which was hosted by Peace And Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS, Inc), and expressed gratitude to the organisers, PALAS, Inc founder and Executive Director Ruel “Rula” Brown and chairman, attorney Patrick Campbell, who were both born and raised in the community before migrating to the United States of America.

When the Jamaica Observer visited the tough community in the Mountain View area on Sunday, residents from Jarrett Lane and surrounding communities crammed inside the church as they took advantage of free eye tests, blood pressure checks and other checks.

The residents were also fed while they waited to see the doctors, who were past PALAS, Inc scholarship recipients. The children were also given knapsacks and stationery for back to school.

Moving about freely on the church compound, the residents were on Sunday able to relax and unwind without the fear and anxiety that have been haunting them recently.

Loxy Anderson, 60, said, for him, the highlight of the health fair was that two men, whom he described as “sons of the soil”, demonstrated that there is more associated with Jarett Lane than just crime and violence.

“Jarrett Lane is known to be one of the most volatile communities [in the country], let’s face it. We all know these things, but there comes a time when things can change.

“No one would understand and believe that these brothers are from Jarrett Lane, but they were here. They played football, they played scrimmage, dem play marble, dem play everything right in here so,” Anderson said. “They have seen a number of things… they have seen it happen around them, dem playmate, dem neighbour. It happened, but out of evil come forth good from the community, and they are now giving back to the community.”

Pointing out the joy that was evident on the church compound, Anderson said: “See Miss King there, in her wheelchair. See brother Burke there, and Miss Pearly there. Those people know these youngsters (Campbell and Brown), they know their grandparents, parents, their brothers and sisters. Is like one big family. What more could we ask for? It’s beyond a health fair, as you can see youngsters going out to school… every youngster get a Jansport bag.”

The resident continued: “Good people come from Jarrett Lane. We have singer; we have lawyer; we have doctor, even though GSAT (Grade Six Achievement Test) is over with now, just check the GSAT passes. We have Campion, we have Ardenne, more than one.”

Trevor Smith, 55, who has been living in the community all his life, was overwhelmed with joy.

“It is a very good feeling. Things like this should happen more often. Mr Brown is from this community. He went away and he’s successful overseas, and now he’s giving back to the community and this is not the first. He has been giving back scholarships, a whole bunch of grants to this community and others. When he first started, it was just this community, but it gone Caribbean-wide.

“As you can see, it is a lot of help. A lot of kids getting tested, you know a lot of students going back to school and they have to pay for the medical, but they get it here for free,” Smith said, adding that he, too, was waiting to have his eyes tested.

Rodger Scott, whose three-year-old son Rogeef was examined by Dr Tiffany Campbell, said the health fair reduced the burden on the clinics in the area.

A father of two, who spoke to the Observer on condition of anonymity, said that when he saw the fliers for the health fair he knew he had to take advantage of the opportunity.

The man, who was from Saunders Avenue, sat inside the church with his children as he waited for their names to be called.

Last month, after heavy gunfire in the area, which the police said erupted when they thwarted a planned attack on gangsters at Oliver Road by gunmen from Jarrett Lane, residents expressed annoyance with the violence.

“Mi tiad a it, but mi cyaan do nothing. Them want to control the entire place. We just have to keep our children and ourselves safe,” said one Jarrett Lane resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity then.

PALAS, Inc is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2011 as a result of the brutal killing of Vanessa Campbell, a Jamaican reggae artiste and past student at Bridgeport High School. Since then, the organisation’s mission has evolved to provide academic scholarships to underserved students in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.

The organisation has provided approximately 600 scholarships, valuing more than $45 million.