The World Is Our Neighborhood: Urgent Medical Needs in Jamaica
By Marva Haye
Volunteers from The World Is Our Neighborhood (TWION), 2016
Since becoming independent from the British back in 1962, the situation in Jamaica has declined in many ways but recently became progressively worse — especially where it matters most, like having good medical care and fully functional hospitals.
I first became familiar with the dire situation after my elderly parents returned and retired to Jamaica and had to seek emergency medical attention due to their different illnesses. I soon realized that the hospital where I used to volunteer as a candy stripper as a child before I immigrated to Philadelphia was no longer the same!
Some say the decline is due to government corruption, mismanagement of funds and/or growing pains. Hospitals have lost staffing, mainly doctors and nurses, due to lack of resources. Whatever the reasons are, my concern is for the people, because they the ones that are suffering and the need help!
There seem to be private hospitals popping up all over the country but most people in Jamaica cannot afford the private hospitals and costs associated with the necessary medical attention they need and in some cases urgently require.
Since becoming aware of the dire situation and lives being loss due to the lack of medical care I feel compelled to help in some small way. I have had help from one organization, The World Is Our Neighborhood (TWION), who provided a 40-foot container of much needed equipment like wheelchairs and stretchers which was well received by the hospital and the community.
Since then I continue to collect and ship barrels of items like white bedsheets, towels, washcloths, and bandages. The COVID Pandemic has compounded an already bad situation. As I have a planned trip coming very soon, I am collecting masks, disposable aprons, gloves or anything else one would like to donate to the cause. Collected medical items will be donated to the Savanah-La-Mar Public General Hospital, Westmoreland, Jamaica.
Please let me know if you have anything you would like to donate. If there is a large item, I would be happy to pick up.
Thanks much for your usual kind attention to this matter, it is greatly appreciated!
Marva Haye, receiving supplies during the Medical Impact Project, 2016. Marva is a member of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia and serves as Chair of the Program Committee.
Donations deadline is February 6, 2021. To donate items, contact Marva Haye at: marvanegril@aol.com