ENFIELD, St Mary — Reduced to tears as he sought to bring solace to mourners at a funeral for one of his former students, Derrick Ashmeade knew he had to do something to stop the violence plaguing this once-tranquil community.

“Enfield was a nice, quiet, peaceful place. I taught here for many years,” the pastor said.

He believes the problems began in 2009. By 2022 he, like many of his neighbours, was in crisis.

“Some persons died violently and they called me to do the funeral, and it brought a burden on me. The second to last funeral I did was a mother and son together. Then I did one with one of my past students — and at that funeral I broke down in tears,” he said.

He decided to act on a vision he had, years earlier, to harness people of faith to rescue the St Mary community.

Their efforts to transform the area, which began in November 2022, have so far resulted in 19 residents being certified trainers for the youth, the local fire brigade, and industrial security operations.

It started with eight churches rallying together to simultaneously host a crusade at two locations within the community. They are Trinitarian Baptist Church, Faith Apostolic Ministries, Foursquare Gospel, Juno Pen Baptist, Methodist Church, Church of God in Jamaica, Mount Refuge Baptist and Redemption Gospel Hall. This was followed by different agencies coming in to share what they do and to offer training for interested individuals.

“I am glad to be identified with God’s vision. It is almost four years ago I was at a service at the Church of God of Prophecy, and while we were there in worship the Lord gave me a vision to have a holistic crusade in the area,” Ashmeade said. “And so I pondered over the vision for four years as it needed a lot of resources, a lot of money to really get it off the ground. I pondered over this vision, and whenever I visited the Four Square Gospel Church I always remind them of the vision and seek their prayer.”

He said those who responded to his appeal to come together and help Enfield include political representatives, the police and fire departments, as well as State-run training institutions.

As a result, some participants have been trained as fire wardens while others who received guidance from the youth innovation centre are now back in school.

“The trainer identified that some of these persons did not have subjects and they are now enrolled in a programme at the Annotto Bay High School preparing for City and Guilds mathematics and English language [exams]. They were also trained in industrial security operations, all done free of cost. One of these training would have cost $14,000; all of these persons have been trained for free,” said Ashmeade.

He encouraged those who have not yet taken advantage of the opportunities available to do so.

“I realise some are very shy but I want to tell you that it was when I was 12 years old I learnt to read. I didn’t go to high school but I went to [Passley Gardens Teachers’] College and I graduated top of the batch. I was the only person who got an ‘A’ for teaching practice, top mathematics, education, research, and top student of the batch,” he said in an attempt to motivate others.

He highlighted how the work being done in Enfield has empowered its residents.

“Two of the persons in the group have done the police examination and have been successful. What they have done will help them in getting training in various fields like security, police, fire service and other related areas. We want Enfield to be the place where we can live, grow and train our children,” he urged.

During a recent awards ceremony to celebrate participants’ accomplishments, Guardsman Security Service Quality Manager Shaniece Edwards lauded them for making the decision to enrol in the programme and for seeing it through.

“You have shown that you have grit and you have completed your training. Every one of you have earned yourself the right to be called a winner. The road to success is not an easy one as it is filled with obstacles, and you sitting here today has proven that you can overcome your challenges. It is proof that you are strong and resilient. In the working world this is an attribute that you have to maintain. You have to develop the discipline that you have to get up, even when you do not want to, because of the discipline. This is important in every aspect of you achieving success — whether it is sports, work, business or your personal life — a winning attitude is the mindset that you need to keep focus and to accomplish your goals. It is determination and willpower to do the best, developing a winning attitude. You have gotten a push start and you must develop the winning attitude” she challenged them.

Six of the participants received certification in all three areas offered. Meanwhile, 15 have been trained in industrial security operations, six in youth innovation training, and 16 in community fire brigade training. The top -erforming male was Garfield Richardson while Christine Smellie topped the female category.

Enfield resident Shamar Martin is impressed by the work being done.

“This is a very good initiative by the pastors and other civic-minded persons as this will help the youth in being positive and to gain gainful employment,” he said.

Lola Mendez also welcomed the initiative.

“It’s a good look. Some of the youth who would normally be idle by the wayside are attending firefighters’ certification training and seem to be enjoying it. We hope that even one or two can be motivated and join the firefighters and be meaningfully employed. I have also noticed other meetings with boys from the streets getting involved, asking questions, and making suggestions — which is a good look,” she said.