YAYA ministry donates school supplies to Petersville ECI
PETERSVILLE, Westmoreland – The Westmoreland Church of God of Prophecy Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) ministry recently donated much-needed back- to-school supplies to the Petersville Early Childhood Institution (ECI) in the parish.
With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the education system globally, with an estimated 1.6 billion students in more than 190 countries being impacted, Jamaican parents and students alike have been reeling from the devastating economic impact, further exacerbated by back-to-school expenses.
With this reality in mind and with several major events postponed or cancelled, the YAYA ministry sought to kick-start their outreach programme by helping the basic school.
“Our major fund-raising event, Retropraise, which was scheduled for Friday, August 28, 2020 had to be cancelled based on the COVID -19 restrictions,” Juvelle Taylor, YAYA’s parish youth director, told the Jamaica Observer West.
“Due to this reality, the event was replaced with ‘Jamaica Day’ which was held in several branches locally within the parish and the individual churches made a contribution which was used solely to purchase and provide back-to-school items for the school.”
Items donated included school bags, lunch bags, writing books, activity books, pencils, crayons and other items regularly used by children in early childhood institutions. A fan was also purchased for the principal’s office.
Despite face-to-face learning being postponed by the Government, the items were presented to principal of Petersville Early Childhood Institute, Simone Quest-Osullivans.
Westmoreland Parish Overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy, Dr Bishop Franklyn Beckford, stressed the importance of service and stewardship, arguing that it is an essential part of the hurch’s mission adding that community outreach creates the crucial platform for the church’s evangelistic efforts to reach the community and spread the love of Jesus Christ.
Quest-Osullivans expressed her gratitude for the donation and praised the church for playing their part in bringing hope to those in need during these challenging times.
The YAYA ministry intends to continue this tradition annually as Taylor expressed that the donation to Petersville ECI was only the beginning of such an initiative.
“As Christians, our purpose is not only to show up on Sunday mornings, but outreach should be a vital aspect of our lives as we seek to help those in need in whatever way we can,” she argued.