FOOD FOR the Poor is known to feed thousands of people, but it is now doing a little more than challenging world hunger. It is also trying to give the gift of health care to the poor of Jamaica.
On Tuesday, the 'Our Lady of the Poor Clinic' was officially opened in an afternoon ceremony on the lawns of the St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Andrew where the facility is sited.
The clinic is a combined project of Food for the Poor International and the St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Andrew.
The idea to open a free clinic in the Corporate Area arose from several cries for quality health care for the poor of Jamaica, said Robin Mahfood, president of Food for the Poor Inc.
STANDARD OF LIFE
Both Mr. Mahfood and Bradley Finzi-Smith, the executive director of the charity's Jamaica operations, believes that a proper health care facility can improve the standard of life for the poor.
They both share the notion that the poor deserve a place where they can get both physical and spiritual healing.
"We wanted to make it (the clinic) somewhere that the rich of our country would want to go but couldn't go because they weren't poor," said Mr. Finzi-Smith.
Mr. Mahfood said the decision to have the clinic at St. Joseph's Hospital was a spur of the moment idea. He said the Archbishop of Kingston, the Most Rev. Edgerton Clarke, was in his office two years ago when the idea sprang to mind.
Mr. Mahfood said the Archbishop quickly got on-board, because he knew the clinic was a necessity.
The Archbishop's quest to help faced opposition from some persons who questioned his move to host a free clinic at the private hospital.
"I had to wrestle with different attitudes," said Archbishop Clarke, head of the Catholic Church in Jamaica.
But Fabian Brown, executive director of St. Joseph's Hospital, shared his vision, he said, and helped to convince his colleagues of the necessity of the clinic.
After the deliberations, the hospital donated six rooms that cost approximately $1 million to refurbish. The project was financed by Food for the Poor International in Miami, Florida.
Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke and Mr. Mahfood did the symbolic cutting of the ribbon.
REACTED ENTHUSIASTICALLY
Superintendent Ionie Ramsey, the head of the Constabulary Communications Network, reacted enthusiastically to the project.
"This is magnificent, I am elated," she said. "This is what service is, this will help with the recovery (of the inner city)."
At present the clinic can accommodate 100 persons a day. It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and furniture, complemented by pastel shaded walls and curtains.
To top it off there is a brightly painted mural of doctors and nurses lending a helping hand to patients.
The clinic will become operational by the end of the month.
