APPROXIMATELY 1,200 people received free health services from Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica at their fourth annual health and distribution fair on July 21 and 22 at the Torrington Wesleyan Holiness Church in Westmoreland.

Those who benefited were from communities including Torrington, Savanna-la-Mar, Hartford, Bath, and Strathbogie in Westmoreland.

A team of medical personnel, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, partnered with FFP Jamaica to provide free medical examinations and prescriptions.

Services such as blood pressure and blood sugar tests, sight screening, dental examinations and cleaning of teeth were offered; and new wheelchairs were distributed to those in need after being measured and fitted.

There was also the distribution of seeds, agricultural tools to farmers, and books to the children present.

Additionally, residents were able to access information about FFP Jamaica and how they can benefit from its services, especially free housing, which is reportedly of great demand from the charity.

In her remarks at the event, board director Debbie-Ann Gordon Crawford said: “We are, through Food For The Poor, fulfilling our mission of serving those who are destitute and indigent. This health and distribution fair gave us the opportunity to also foster sustainability through the distribution of reading books, agricultural tools, and seeds to empower Jamaicans to become self-sufficient as they improve their standard of living.

“The partnership we have enjoyed over the years from corporate Jamaica, in particular Wisynco & Tyre Warehouse, is the type of partnership we would want to encourage others to be involved in,” she continued. “If all businesses in Jamaica gave back to Jamaica in this tangible and meaningful way, then our society would be in a better position.”

Executive director of FFP Jamaica, David Mair, said it was the charity organisation’s “extreme pleasure” to serve the people of Westmoreland.

“Enhancing public health and improving patient care in Jamaica has been FFP’s mandate since our inception. In fact, in 2015, some 79 shipments of medical items such as beds, wheelchairs, surgical equipment and pharmaceuticals valued at over $2.3 billion were brought into the island and distributed to hospitals and health centres islandwide,” he shared.

One of the participants in the health fair, 91-year-old Albert Malcolm from Hartford, had nothing but praise for Food For the Poor for organising the event for people who were less fortunate. Malcolm was one of more than 30 people who were assessed, measured and given wheelchairs during the event.

“Mi knees dem very weak and so I had to walk with a stick, but it still used to hurt mi a lot. Mi couldn’t walk fast either because of weakness in the legs and the fact that I am blind. I come to this health fair using a stick and today I am leaving with a wheelchair,” Malcom said. “It is the first wheelchair mi eva own in mi life ’cause mi couldn’t afford to buy one. I feel very, very comfortable now and di people dem treat mi very nice. May the good Lord bless you all and I hope your store basket may never be empty.”