PORT MARIA, St Mary — Thirty years ago a bright-eyed young missionary, theologian Dr Bob Magee, came to Jamaica where he was a part of a team that helped build Oberlin High School. That was the start of friendships forged with locals and the spark that grew into the Jamaica Medical, Dental Mission.

The group makes yearly trips — except when the COVID-19 pandemic raged — to Jamaica providing medical, optical and dental care to residents of rural St Mary. Some of the communities that have benefited are Islington, Robin’s Bay, Highgate, Free Hill, Gayle, and Retreat.

At 80 years old Dr Magee still coordinates and is integrally involved in the negotiations needed to put a team together for each visit. Each group is usually made up of doctors, pharmacists, dentists, nurses, opticians, and administrative staff.

“It’s not an easy task as there are challenges to get funding to take the things we need, like medicine, glasses and such,” Dr Magee told the Jamaica Observer.

His daughter Robin Magee Lane agrees that it can be a daunting task.

“Our greatest challenge is getting our resources such as medicine, doctors. Getting the paperwork done from the Ministry of Health is very difficult,” she bemoaned.

It is her task to handle much of the administrative tasks required to undertake each mission.

“Right now we have a specialist doctor who is willing to perform surgeries on persons with cleft lip, and we cannot get approval for this,” Magee Lane pointed out.

Despite the challenges, the charity group — which Dr Magee said is registered under the North Minister Presbyterian Church — remains committed to its task of helping St Mary residents in need. He said it typically takes less than nine months to prepare for each visit. Since their last four visits they have been adding sewing machines to the items donated to appreciative St Mary residents.

“The first time we brought them was to the Salem United Church in Islington. The women were taught to sew so it could become a way to make a living. We gave them materials and left all that so the church could execute it further to the community,” explained Dr Magee.

This year the group of volunteers has provided 30 sewing machines. They will be managed by Highgate Bethel United Church where a group of women will use them to make reusable sanitary napkins.

The goal is to empower more women who have an interest in entrepreneurship.