MONTEGO BAY, St James — Though Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) Executive Director Roshane Reid-Koomson joined a Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego ceremony where funds were being handed over to beneficiaries, she assumed JCS would not get its usual cheque. She was wrong.

“I am overwhelmed, I’m shocked, speechless. I came here just to support the handover ceremony, not expecting anything, because of the impact of Melissa and the slight change of focus for the event,” she said.

The club’s annual charity Run/Walk/Wheelchair Breast Cancer event is held each October. Last year, Hurricane Melissa made that impossible so they pushed the event back to January of this year.

“The event was held mostly to assist those who were in need because of Melissa. So we are very heartened, we’re shocked, we’re surprised, yet we are grateful because this goes a long way towards our screening services in Kingston where we offer mammograms, pap smears and prostate,” said Reid-Koomson.

She said the $1.7 million received will go towards providing services that are greatly needed.

“While this focuses on breast cancer, we are very happy that we can continue to provide the screening services,” she said.

“We have women that come from many different parishes that cannot afford a basic mammogram or a pap smear, men who cannot afford the prostate screening,” Reid-Koomson added.

She explained that these individuals come to them because of the JCS’s track record. The support received from Kiwanians, she said, is critical to the society’s ability to make a difference.

“I am very happy, I am very elated that the Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego Bay could have pulled this off. They’re so very resilient, they’re so very strong and they have such a passion and commitment for the cancer cause — not just in St James but in Jamaica — and for that the Jamaica Cancer Society is very happy and thankful,” Reid-Koomson said.

A little bit more than 4,000 participants turned up for the January event, fewer than the numbers seen in previous years. However the organising team at the all-female member club said they were left astonished after they tallied the amounts raised.

“There is no word that can explain how we are feeling right now… When you set a measly target of $9 million to $10 million, what are you saying to God? We are saying that he is a God that cannot do the impossible. When we heard the $15 million [raised], well $14,799,000, we all screamed. We are feeling elated!” lead organiser for the event Nadine Spence remarked following the recent handover ceremony.

She said one more sponsorship commitment was still outstanding at the time and that should push the overall amount raised to just beyond $15 million. These funds will provide support for 27 recipients — more than double the number initially planned.

“The impact is great! It is far-reaching! A lot of times, our cheque is the only support that a lot of these persons would have every gotten,” explained Spence.

She is grateful for sponsors who came on board despite the challenges and did their part to make the event a resounding success.

“The contributions came in and it made a huge difference. The sponsors that we had were amazing,” Spence declared.

Another beneficiary is the Montego Bay Cancer Support Group, which received $3.24 million. Coordinator Llauna Gordon-Humphries said the funds will go a far way for many individuals who are having a tough time.

“This means a lot; many tears are going to be shed. This is the only support that they have,” she said.

Gordon-Humphries and her group have been long-time beneficiaries of the programme and rely on it each year as they provide support to those battling cancer.

“Last time, somebody was about to lose their house with the mortgage. Two months were not paid and in the third month she was losing her job because she had cancer, she goes for treatments. She cried when I handed it to her; she cried and cried when she got it,” she disclosed.

Gordon-Humphries already has in mind individuals who desperately need help.

“Another lady, she is the only support for her son who is mentally challenged. He’s 39, she can’t work, she does a little thing in the fields and they eat off that. I am trying to see that she gets something,” she said.

Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Dr Garfield Badal, who accepted $2.7 million on behalf of Cornwall Regional Hospital’s oncology unit, spoke of how grateful they are and his admiration for the work done by the all-female club.

“These ladies, for 15 years, have done amazing work,” he said.

Coordinator of the Montego Bay Cancer Support Group Llauna Gordon-Humphries (centre) collects a cheque from sponsor representative for Harbour City Mall Janeil McFarlane (left) and Gisele Waldron, president-elect of the Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego Bay, which staged the run/walk.

Executive director of the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS) Roshane Reid-Koomson (second right) shows off the Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego Bay’s support for the JCS. Sharing the moment are Club Secretary Kadian Brown (left); JCS Finance Manager at the Michael Leslie, and the club’s President-elect Gisele Waldron.

Dr Garfield Badal (right) accepted $2.7 million on behalf of Cornwall Regional Hospital’s oncology unit. He is joined by deputy mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Dwight Crawford and president of the Kiwanis Club of Providence-Montego Bay, Barbara Grizzle.