One of the most ambitious projects carried out by the Rotary Club of Kingston during the 2020 administrative year was the donation of equipment valued at $21 million to the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

The equipment donated consisted of 15 new incubators, 16 monitors and 16 infusion pumps and was handed over recently.

The funds to acquire the items were raised through joint efforts of the Rotary Club of Kingston and the Rotary Club of Camrose, Canada, together with donations from the Rotary International Foundation, Rotary District 5370, the Provincial Government of Alberta and the Federal Government of Canada.

The Rotary Club of Kingston’s annual golf tournament raised US$20,000 towards the project.

According to Alva Wood, president of the Rotary Club of Kingston, the idea to contribute the equipment to the Bustamante Hospital for Children was born in August 2017 when Roy Wallace, then director of foundation and international service, was tasked by the Rotary Club of Camrose to do a feasibility study on a project in Jamaica. Following the study, the joint project was launched in May 2018 and the equipment was handed over to the Bustamante Hospital for Children in October this year.

Among the other Rotary Club of Kingston outreach programmes which impacted the community this year was the delivery of 20 care packages donated by Seprod Limited to residents of the Cheshire Village in August Town on International Day for Persons with Disabilities early this month.

The Village, comprising 21 houses, was built in the 1970s to provide housing for persons with disabilities. It was modelled after the Cheshire Homes, conceptualised by Sir Leonard Cheshire in England. After World War I, construction of most houses was sponsored by private companies, with a plaque bearing the name of the sponsor affixed to each house.

In addition, over 1,000 books were donated this month to the Pringle Home for Girls and Garden Hill Primary School, both in St Catherine, by the Rotary Club of Niagara, Canada, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Kingston.

Maybe among the most heart-warming projects carried out by the Rotary Club of Kingston during the novel coronavirus pandemic was the presentation of a 320-foot, two-bedroom, one-bathroom house, with kitchen, water tank, septic tank and solar lights, to a homeless family in West Prospect, Bog Walk, St Catherine, at the end of November. This was made possible through partnership with the Rotary Club of Naples North in Florida and Food For the Poor.

Under the Rotary Club of Kingston’s annual Home for the Homeless initiative, which was launched in 2016 during the tenure of then club President Michael Buckle, the club has delivered more than seven houses throughout Jamaica.

“We are working to deliver another house during the Christmas season to a homeless family to be identified in partnership with Food For the Poor,” said Wood.

“It is always emotional to see how the lives of these families change when they get the keys to their houses,” he continued.

Also, in keeping with the Yuletide season, the club will be delivering kitchen equipment to each of five selected senior citizens homes, to benefit up to a total of 1,000 residents.

According to Wood, the five homes will each be presented with a refrigerator, stove, or microwave, sanitisers, disinfectant, face masks and other hygiene products.

In addition, he said one home has already received 100 day-old chicks to begin a start-up business for self-sufficiency.

“We feel blessed and honoured to be able to serve our community and to make a difference in the lives of many who would otherwise have been ignored. The Rotary Club of Kingston is committed to being an effective service club, even in trying times as we have experienced in recent months,” said Wood.