Harkers Hall welcomes health fair
Published:Saturday | June 18, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer
HARKERS HALL, St Catherine:
SIXTY-YEAR-old Malita Campbell, a farmer since 2005 and a member of the Harkers Hall Producers and Marketing Organisation, seized the opportunity on Tuesday to get free foot care.
"I am in the bush and the dirt stain up my nails and I have a corn on one of my toes and I want my feet - especially my toes - to look good, so I come here today to get free foot care," Campbell told The Gleaner, while Dorrette Gordon, foot-care assistant attend to her toes.
But, foot care was just one of the free health-care offerings at the health and opportunity fair, a collaborative effort between the Social Development Commission (SDC), the Harkers Hall Health Committee and the Planning Institute of Jamaica, held at the Harkers Hall Health Centre.
"Thank God me no have no sugar and me pressure alright," an elderly man exclaimed after getting free blood-sugar and blood-pressure checks.
The children were not left out, as a number of them were immunised.
RGD plays role
In the meantime, the Registrar General's Department (RGD) received 90 applications for birth certificates, while several persons registered to access benefits from the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).
"I have three children and I cannot manage to take care of them," a young lady in her 20s told The Gleaner, while clutching her baby in her arms, as she waited on her turn to register for PATH benefits.
However, the event was not only about health care or social services, as a number of organisations highlighted potential economic opportunities.
One such was the Rural Agricultural Development Authority which showcased a several products including jams, pickle pepper and mango chutney. The agency also registered farmers and disseminated farming tips.
The Harkers Hall Producers and Marketing Organisation attested to the benefits which can be derived from tilling the soil. Its array of produce including bananas, plantains, yam, pumpkins and pineapples were not only eye-catching but also earned them economic gains. While the Glengoffe Community Development Committee attracted even the young, with its variety of hats and other craft items created by Nadine Brown.
And, as Sherica Hawthorne, administrative assistant for Vision 2030 Project, explained to The Gleaner, the event also provided the avenue for the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) to continue to share Vision 2030 Jamaica's National Development Plan with communities across the island.
"The health fair is, in a sense, surrounding our plan and the outcome of having a healthy and stable population. What we find after a presentation by Charles Clayton, just by a show of hands by members of the audience, is that not many persons in the Harkers Hall area knew about the plan," said Hawthorne.
HEART Trust/NTA, the National People's Co-operative People's Bank, Bog Walk branch, and Courts Jamaica Limited also participated in the event which seemingly brought some hope to the once-vibrant farming community.
Long overdue
It's an activity public health nurse Careen Davis told The Gleaner Harkers Hall has longed for.
"Harkers Hall has not been doing any health fairs, what we have done are treats for children, so this event incorporates youths, the elderly, the babies, all the age groups, it's long overdue," said Davis.
Meanwhile, a pleased Michael Uylett, SDC community development officer for Glengoffe/Harkers Hall, described the partnership with the PIOJ and the Health Committee as fruitful.
"This community health and opportunity fair is another channel to sell the SDC brand 'Building Communities, Building Jamaica' and with Vision 2030 Jamaica, sharing this vision of Jamaica, the place to live, grow children and so do business, we are pleased with today's activity," Uylett told The Gleaner.
He said as a follow-up, the SDC would be moving to facilitate community priority planning through engaging the governance structures.