Bringing together approximately 400 Jamaicans from the Diaspora and more than 2,000 others from across the island, the eight-day Porus Reunion Homecoming Celebration has begun to create a buzz in Porus, Manchester.

The reunion, which began last Saturday and will run until July 17, features a series of events aimed at boosting economic activity and promoting good cheer, according to Porus Reunion Planning Committee Chairman Karam Persad.

“All the proceeds from this reunion go back into the community and it will do wonders for the community. The theme is ‘Bringing back unity in the Porus community’ and what it does is gives everybody an opportunity to benefit,” he told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

Based on experience from previous years, Persad said that the events also serve to bring crime under control.

“Crime is virtually little to none during that time and thereafter. It connects people from the Diaspora, people who have a fear of coming back to Jamaica. When you come back to a one-week event like this and see the vibe, unity and love that it entails, it makes a lot of them feel better coming back to the community to re-establish themselves, build houses and start businesses.

“It is a social and economic boon to the communities. It is an event for everybody, from the smallest of the kids to the oldest. We have elders and retired folks who come out. One of the events is a church service and one is a street dance. We usually have retired folks coming out to the street dance. It has the whole community buzzing. It has expanded… we have people coming in from St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, and St Elizabeth. You have people from Kingston who come down here to attend the events,” he shared.

One of the elements of the reunion is a night football competition which Persad described as the largest of its kind in Jamaica.

“We have been having a lot of requests from a lot of communities trying to emulate what we are doing. This is very powerful. I have to give a lot of credit to the people who work and help us, both overseas and locally. The people have been wonderful. The patrons love and cooperate with it and they have fun with it. We are talking about night football that pulls 2,000 people on a regular night at the Porus community centre,” he boasted.

“Most of the events are free. The health fair is free. The only thing that is not free, apart from the football, is the meet and greet, where we will play dominoes, eat ackee and salt fish, drink lemonade and rum punch and where people get to talk and reacquaint themselves,” Persad said.

“A lot of these younger folks only hear about some of the good people from the community and they get to meet and greet and talk,” he added, pointing out that the events are so well-received that they inspire a mindset change in a lot of people.

The events, which were kick-started with the Porus Awards on Saturday, continued with the Porus Night League football competition semi-finals and after show.

On Tuesday the community will worship in a reunion service at Porus New Testament Church, then on Wednesday there will be a leadership workshop and maths competition, followed later by Persad’s birthday party.

On Thursday, the meet-and-greet will take place and on Friday, a street dance. On Saturday there will be a health fair and old school party.

The final of the night football competition is scheduled for 6:00 pm on Sunday, followed by a stage show at Porus Community Centre.