ROSES VALLEY, St Elizabeth — Scores of children and residents here recently benefited from a back-to-school treat and community health fair organised by Unity Fellowship Jamaica (UFJ) Ministries and co-sponsored by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.

UFJ’s Reverend Nevin Powell, who has ancestral roots in Roses Valley, had started an annual mission in 2015 because of the recognised needs in the community, and harsh economic realities.

This year saw the return of a health fair and the annual event following two years of activities that were only focused on back-to-school efforts.

Located in north-eastern St Elizabeth close to the border with southern Trelawny, Roses Valley has benefited over the past seven years from UFJ Ministries.

Among Powell’s goals was to provide teeth cleaning and 100 backpacks with stationery for children, as well as mammograms for 50 women. Eye screening and HIV testing were also among the services offered at the health fair.

In 2018 the mission hosted a three-day health fair at Roses Valley Primary School where scores of people received medical assessments and treatment from health-care volunteers based locally, as well as from California, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Florida and elsewhere in the United States.