MAY PEN, Clarendon — More than 2,000 young people from the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church Central Jamaica Conference gathered in Clarendon for what they dubbed a massive clean-up project across the parish on Sunday through their Operation Save A Youth Initiative (OSAY).

The group was spread across the parish, with teams dispatched as far north as Spalding, Jackson Bay, and Welcome Beach in the south, and everywhere in-between.

Pastor Dwayne Scott, who is the Youth, Children and Adolescent Ministries director at the Central Jamaica Conference, explained that OSAY is a Central Jamaica Conference-led initiative, engaging young people to be the hands and feet of Jesus in service to the community.

“This year, OSAY, under the theme ‘Touching Hearts and Saving Lives’, is expecting to make an impact with over 50 projects across the parish in the areas of beautification and painting, renovation and construction, and cleaning up. We are cleaning up the May Pen Market, the May Pen Cemetery as well as the beaches. We have also been feeding persons on the streets and cleaning up the town itself,” explained Scott.

Speaking to the impact of the project, he said the expectation is that, overall, the aesthetics of the spaces will be improved.

“The beaches will be clean, the May Pen and Spalding markets will be clean, the sidewalks will be repainted, and the roads will be looking a little bit different after today. And more than anything, lives will be changed and persons will experience the impact of the SDA Church. At the end of the day persons’ lives will be better because of our involvement,” he said.

According to Pastor Neville Barrett, the president of the Central Jamaica Conference, OSAY started in 2016 as an annual event but was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Fast-forward to 2023, we started the planning for this operation in Clarendon. A lot of work went into this. We have more than 2,000 young people from all three parishes and for us to get so many young people in one place says a lot. For us it’s not just about preaching the gospel, it’s about scratching where it’s itching, because people have genuine needs and it’s our objective to minister to the needs… just as Jesus did,” Barrett said emphatically.

The group donated five beds, two wheelchairs, and 100 care packages to the Clarendon Infirmary. A similar donation was also made at the May Pen Hospital.

For Rowhan Blake, chief executive officer at the Clarendon Municipal Corporation, the donation could not have come at a better time.

“We have seen an increase in the number of persons requiring care at the infirmary, and in an effort to increase the services we provide we have had to increase our expenditure significantly,” said Blake.

“So when we have persons partnering with the corporation to assist these persons, it’s always welcome. I want to thank the SDA Church for coming on board and supporting us. We truly appreciate today’s activity and we are encouraging other persons to come on board and assist us to provide the best care for the residents of the infirmary.”

Eugena Clarke James, the chief executive officer at May Pen Hospital, also expressed her gratitude.

“We have received a brand new hospital bed and 100 care packages for our patients, along with a wheelchair. We are so grateful for the partnership, because all of these items will be used for the intended purposes,” she said.

Clarke James said the hospital appreciates the support and is encouraging other stakeholders who can, to partner with it.

“We, the management of the May Pen Hospital, know that we alone cannot build this facility, as partnership is what builds communities. We serve a population of over 260,000, and together we can make May Pen Hospital a place of excellence,” she said.

The OSAY project coincided with clean-up activities announced for the capital by the new mayor of May Pen, Joel Williams.

“I cannot find words to express how appreciative we are for them being with us. We appreciate the help we are getting, especially for the poor, because they are much less fortunate than ourselves. They can do very little for themselves and so we have to do it for them. We thank the Almighty God that you are here today to extend to them some good wishes along with the support that we often need at the infirmary,” said Williams.