MORE than 200 elderly persons and shut-ins from Middle Quarters and its environs in St Elizabeth were treated recently to a warm meal and care packages by the Middle Quarters Community Development Committee (CDC).

President of the Middle Quarters CDC, Stashauna Burnett told JIS News that the initiative was in response to the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic on families.

“There [are] a lot of elderly persons in the community who are not necessarily living on their own but because of COVID-19, their family members or caregivers have lost their jobs,” Burnett said.

“So even though it is not a lot that was given…we wanted to ease the pressure off the caregivers who are taking care of these people,” she explained.

Burnett commended the more than 50 volunteers, headed by Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Western and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green, who assisted with the packaging and delivery of the meals and care packages to the homes of the beneficiaries.

“We had representatives from Sandals South Coast, St Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, the School Community Outreach Programme for Education, and others,” Burnett said.

She said the Middle Quarters CDC will continue to aid the elderly and the needy in the community.

She pointed out that the 16-year-old group, which falls under the umbrella of the Social Development Commission, has spearheaded several projects to benefit the community.

“Outside of the support for the elderly, we cater for the children. We have back-to-school treats and health fairs [and] we started an eco-ago park in Middle Quarters where we are going to have a butterfly habitat, the rearing of fish, and it would be a tourist attraction,” Burnett said.