BPOs donate care packages to Granville residents

WESTERN BUREAU:

ONE HUNDRED and twenty families in Granville, St James, received a special treat yesterday when they were given care packages with food and snacks by the Global Services Association of Jamaica (GSAJ), as part of the group’s ongoing outreach support programme amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The GSAJ’s representatives, led by its president Gloria Henry, presented the residents with the care packages at a special ceremony at the Granville Peace Justice and Resource Development Foundation headquarters. The packages, valued at $150,000, included food items purchased from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and snacks for the residents’ children.

Henry told The Gleaner that the initiative was done, in part, to support the GSAJ’s employees who live in Granville and surrounding areas. She also noted that it followed the GSAJ’s donation of 6,000 face masks to the Western Regional Health Authority earlier this month.

“During this COVID pandemic, the GSAJ decided that we want to support, not just our workers, but the extended communities also. We previously made some donations to the Ministry of Health, and we are now here to make donations of care packages for adults and children, and our members have come out to help,” said Henry.

“Some of the people who work within the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Freeport, at Barnett Street, and at the Montego Bay Freezone are from this community, and we feel that it is a necessity and part of our social responsibility to support these communities.”

Promoting peace

The GSAJ also presented the Granville Peace Justice Centre with a cheque for $150,000. Henry said that this was in solidarity with the organisation’s mission to promote peace in Granville, which has often been deeply affected by crime and violence.

“We support this particular initiative because of what it embodies. It speaks about putting down the gun, finding gainful employment, uplifting the young people, finding opportunities for unattached youth, and recognising different communities irrespective of the challenges that some of these communities face,” said Henry.

Granville resident Riwcardo Barrett expressed appreciation for the kind gesture, saying the GSAJ outreach was a good initiative.

“We have been having some outreach projects in the community of Granville, such as this one here today (yesterday), and I am very grateful for this opportunity in terms of the presentation that was done, in giving back to the kids and to the community itself,” said Barrett.