RESIDENTS of Pembroke Hall and surrounding communities in St Andrew now have access to a multi-purpose park, where they can keep fit on a jogging trail, learn to play chess and table tennis, and where the children can enjoy see-saws and swings.

The CHASE Fund, sponsors of the project, said the wellness park has been given to be a full package that will enhance the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the people who use it.

On Friday last, just before the official opening of the park, Bridget Thompson-Dunkley was spotted monitoring her triplets as they played. According to the mother, the park provides a safe space, away from motor vehicles, where people can exercise and even do picnicking.

“I was driving by and my kids saw it and said they wanted to come and play. I am really relieved because there aren’t many playing areas in Kingston. I think every community should have something like this for the children. Health and fitness is very important and as you can see, there is a jogging and walking trail. Sometimes you don’t want to be walking on the street because of the cars. There is table tennis, benches [to sit and relax], and a lot of green space where you can spread out your blanket and have fun.”

“It’s a very good initiative. Before this, they would have to play in the yard or at school. Our yard doesn’t have these things at all. Playing is very important and it’s almost like a dying thing. Children are just sitting around the television, the phone or the tablet and they aren’t getting enough fresh air. They’re not getting enough exercise. Obesity is on the rise in children and adults too, so we need more spaces like this,” Thompson-Dunkley reiterated.

Wilford “Billy” Heaven, chief executive officer of the CHASE Fund, described the project as phenomenal.

“This is addressing a critical wellness need that is lacking, especially in communities like these. There are two chess boards and two tables for chess — an intellectual game — and there is a big correlation between that and subjects like math and the quantitative subjects. That was good. Table tennis is also something we want to encourage. It builds relationships just like cricket,” Heaven said.

Heaven, like other stakeholders, believe that the space will bring the people closer to God.

You can come here, sit down and connect with God. From day one the community embraced this. We broke ground around 2020 and overcame and delayed a lot of projects and this was one of them. After that we continued during COVID but the pace slowed down drastically. We picked up and put on the finishing touches and here we are.”

Meric Walker, president of the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, fully endorsed the project on the grounds that it will bring decency, peace and tranquillity and the no man is an island concept if utilised the right way.

“When you are in nature, it contributes to your mental wellness, your social well-being and your spiritual enhancement,” Walker said.

Paul Bailey, pastor of the Meadowvale and Pembroke Hall Seventh-day Adventist Churches, could hardly keep up with his three-year-old grandson Liam who took full advantage of the official opening of the park.

His grandfather said the facilities will help “to alleviate suffering in the community”.