COLD SPRING, Hanover – Recognising the need for health education and services in this rural Hanover community, principal of Gurney’s Mount Primary and Infant School, Natalie Thompson,s recently partnered with the Hanover Health Services for a community health fair targeting Cold Spring’s most vulnerable youth.

“We are staging this community health fair as we have recognised that the community is in need of all the support possible. And, as much as we are in the business of teaching and learning, the health and well-being of our students — and by extension the community — are very important to us,” Thompson told the Jamaica Observer West during the health fair on Friday.

Among the services provided by the Hanover health team were dental care, HIV and syphilis testing, and one-on-one doctor consultations. Surprisingly, the principal noted, not only did the community children and parents come out to support and benefit from this initiative, but word of mouth brought in an influx of people from nearby communities as well.

“What we find really remarkable is that not only did we have members of this community participate, but we also had people from Woodsville and other communities. I’m really heartened by the kind of response that we have gotten from them. We had quite a bit of people coming out,” Thompson proudly said.

Thompson’s pride, she told the Observer West, also stems from the school’s ability to pull its community members together in a meaningful and beneficial way. Citing the socioeconomic background of the people living in these rural communities, the principal believes the health professionals’ visit to Cold Spring was necessary.

“I should let you know that when I got the school in 2018 we had 28 students here; in fact, the school was on the verge of closure. But, the Government and our past students stepped in and here we are today with 70 students. We have undergone much renovation and some infrastructural developments have taken place; we now have a good road leading to the school,” the principal explained.

“So, in light of all the developments that have taken place in the community and our school population growing, I think it is significant that we recognise that the educational levels of our parents are not of such where they can offer the kind of guidance you would want for the average child.”

Of the services offered during last Friday’s health fair, the Observer West was told, dental care was the one which mostly targeted the students of Gurney’s Mount Primary and Infant School as Thompson believed some parents were falling short in educating their children on the importance of oral health.

“When it comes on to dental care we recognised that our parents need to be educated in that regard, and I am so happy to see that some of my students, especially the ones who really needed the service, came out today. The dentists had their hands full,” reported Thompson.

Parent Verona Scarlett was grateful that the Hanover Health Services visited her community on Friday.

Noting that both she and her young daughter benefited from the services provided at the health fair, Scarlett said, “This was great because we got looked after.”

Guidance counsellor at Gurney’s Mount Primary and Infant School, Lavaugn Bowers told the Observer West that the school’s decision to invite health professionals into their community was out of a desperate need for intervention.

“What I noticed in my assessment is that a lot of residents do not see the doctor, so no matter how much I give them a referral to go to the doctor, they just won’t go. We have to go the extreme way of either taking them to the doctor or bringing the doctor here, but I noticed that they definitely need the health care,” Bowers said.

“A lot of young guys on the road don’t really understand the importance of HIV testing so it is important that they see something like this in the community. Some people just cannot afford it and that was one of the major concerns; the socioeconomic background has a lot to do with these issues in the community.”

Stating that she hopes this partnership with the Hanover Health Services will continue, Bowers plans to invite other stakeholders into the community.

“I want residents to get their IDs and birth certificates so I’m trying to put together another community fair where they can have those services done here. Sometimes when the parents come to register their children at the school they do not even have a birth certificate for themselves or their children,” she pointed out.