Thousands benefit from PSOJ COVID-19 Jamaica Response Fund

SEVENTY-SEVEN thousand beneficiaries in 52 communities across the island have benefitted from the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s (PSOJ) COVID-19 Jamaica Respond Fund.

Saffrey Brown, project manager of the Fund, made the disclosure at the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) Steering Committee meeting recently, where she was the guest speaker.

“The target of $250 million wasn’t met, but we did raise roughly$197.5 million, and with that, we were able to directly impact 77,000 beneficiaries. Many of the beneficiaries on the programme got their packages every two weeks for three months,” Brown noted.

She said that one of the successes of the programme was the mobilisation of 1,200 volunteers, who included members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), who, she said, assisted in distributing the packages and who benefitted from improved relationships with members of the communities that were aided by the Fund.

“Historically, as police, they would drive into these communities to arrest somebody or oversee an operation, but part of this programme involved walking and engaging with the residents. They also reported that as a result of the interactions, the trust building was improved, and they were getting more information from the communities to assist in their crime-fighting efforts,” she divulged.

Brown, who was also the chair of the Council of Voluntary Social Services, noted that the Fund donated to 46 non-governmental organisations such as Eve for Life, Jamaica AIDs Support for Life, St John’s Ambulance, the Jamaica Association for the Deaf, and the Jamaica Society for the Blind, among other groups.

In addition, 43,000 masks were donated to vulnerable communities and organisations that were on the front line in the fight against COVID-19. This was made possible through a partnership with NovaMed and American Friends of Jamaica

CONTRIBUTORS

One hundred and twenty-two local organisations and individuals contributed to the Fund as well as 949 overseas donors. Brown said that the Fund is in the final month of operation and will be doing its last set of activities which involve food kitchens through the Jamaica Council of Churches.

Professor Elizabeth Ward, chair of the VPA, commended the work of the PSOJ COVID-19 Response Fund and noted that it reflected the backbone of Jamaica and what could be accomplished when Jamaicans pulled together, used science, used a targeted approach, and reported effectively on what they were doing.