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December

A total of 887 children received eye examinations over three days of free Vision Clinics in Westmoreland Jamaica

Taken from the Jamaica Observer

A total of 887 children received eye examinations over three days of free Vision Clinics in Westmoreland last month.

Of that number, 172 received glasses, a recent release from the Issa Trust Foundation said.

The foundation, the non-profit arm of Couples Resorts, in conjunction with the Lions of Michigan Vision Mission Team, held the clinics for students at Savanna-La-Mar Primary School from October 17-19, and provided comprehensive eye exams to test the health of each child’s eyes and whether they needed glasses to improve their vision.

The release said the glasses were provided by the Lions Club team free of cost.

The mission team consisted of four optometrists, two medical doctors, a licensed optician, and five volunteer technicians who assisted in vision testing and in fitting the glasses.

According to the foundation, all the glasses provided were previously used glasses that had been collected, sorted, cleaned, measured and shipped from the United States to Jamaica. The Lions Club team used a computer programme to search for the best glasses that they have in their supply, closest to the child’s prescription needs.

In addition to the students examined, the Issa Trust Foundation said a Vision Clinic was also held at Couples Swept Away for the adult staff of that hotel and Couples Negril, where 329 employees were seen and 220 received glasses.

Lions Clubs International is the largest service organisation in the world with 1.4 million male and female members from 210 countries, the release said.

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October

Computer lab opens at Oracabessa Primary

Press Release

From the Jamaica Observer October 9th, 2018

AS the top-performing school in St Mary and Region Two, Oracabessa Primary has to ensure it maintains its position, and the recent opening of a computer lab there is one way it plans to fulfil its mission of adequately catering to students.

The lab was donated by the Issa Trust Foundation and Oracabessa Foundation in collaboration with the NCB Foundation. It is equipped with 18 new computers and is expected to serve almost 1,000 students.

“This will go a far way in enhancing literacy and numeracy of our students. We now have [the] National Standards Curriculum which requires the use of technology and this will go a big way in enhancing that and promoting the Ministry of Education’s mission…” Principal Gregory Davis told the Jamaica Observer following the September 29 opening.

Davis, in expressing his gratitude at the opening ceremony, said he was really happy that the various foundations saw the need to partner with Oracabessa Primary.

“I’m really happy that the partners saw the need to partner with us. I am really proud to be the principal here to chart the new course,” Davis said.

The Issa Trust Foundation also renovated the toilet facilities at the school.

Davis said the renovated facilities will go a far way in enhancing hygienic conditions for the family.

Chairman of the Issa Trust Foundation Paul Issa explained that although the trust has been focused on paediatric health care, it also places value on helping in education and has plans to replicate the Oracabessa donation at other schools.

“We are happy to have the privilege of doing this,” Issa said.

Jonathan Gosse, director of the Oracabessa Foundation, described the donation of the computer lab as a celebration of the start, recognising that more is needed.

To that point, Principal Davis made an appeal for more support from the private sector.

“It is an excellent gesture working in partnership with the private sector, [but] we need a lot more, so we are asking for more support from our partners,” he said.

Member of Parliament for Western St Mary Robert Montague, who also highlighted some of the institution’s needs, called on the Ministry of Education to invest in Oracabessa Primary.

Montague pointed out that the school has been around for years and as a result, is in need of renovation. He pointed to the wooden flooring as an example of the improvements which are needed.

“This is a school that the ministry should invest in,” Montague argued, adding that the investment is even more necessary given the school’s reputation as the top-performing school in St Mary.

Montague and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education Floyd Green were taken on a tour of the institution to look at its needs.

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October

New Computer Lab at Oracabessa Primary School

St. Ann’s Bay Pediatric Ward Remodel Is Now Complete!

Featured Post, Medical Mission, News, Press Release

St Ann's Bay Hospital Pediatric Ward Grand Opening – The Making of For The Children Jamaica from Issa Trust Foundation on Vimeo.

June 2017, Ambassadors, Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, Air Supply, performed a benefit concert at Couples Sans Souci Resort from which $160,000 was raised. This money was integrated in a whopping $267,000 improvement project for the ward, which was officially opened on March 22, 2018, by Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton.

Extensive work was done on the ward and included the provision of new beds, cots, vital-sign monitors, piped medical gases, furniture for staff, patients and visitors, replacement of all windows, new curtain tracks and curtains, a central air-conditioning system, split air-conditioning units, fans, television sets, ventilators, and other critical infrastructural improvements, including the critical care nursery.

“I believe that how we care for each other reflects who we are as a nation; and how we care for children reflects the kind of future we’re going to have,” ITF Chairman Paul Issa shared. Wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, says every Jamaican deserves good healthcare and should have access to first-rate health facilities.

Speaking at the opening of the renovated Pediatric Ward at the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital in St. Ann on Marc Mrs. Holness said it is against that background that it is so commendable that the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) and the Issa Trust Foundation have joined together “to produce a world-class facility” for children.

“This phenomenal team has put together a world-class facility to ease the pain of children. You don’t find this kind of effort happening every day, which reinforces even more the need to appreciate this kind of love that has been meted out to our children and their parents,” she said.