( Left )
Gleeful children at the Marcus Garvey Basic School have a whale of a time with Santa Claus during his visit to Greenwich Town last week. The Marcus Garvey Basic School receives year-round assistance from the Shipping Association of Jamaica. ( Right )
The Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) staff choir sings 'Songs of Christmas' for the senior citizens of Greenwich Town during the SAJ's annual treat for golden agers held last week. Some 150 senior citizens received gift parcels and were served lunch by SAJ managers and staff. - CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
THE SHIPPING Association of Jamaica (SAJ) sees its role of corporate citizen as one that endows the organisation with responsibilities as a member of the port community, the country's business fraternity, the residential community in which it operates and the Jamaican society in general.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
While continuing to provide meaningful assistance to the community of Greenwich Town, the SAJ is expanding its outreach to the wider community in the areas of sport and health care. In sport, the SAJ sponsored the Kingston & St. Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Under-15 tournament and assisted Boys' Town in purchasing gear for their football team; in health care, we are joint sponsors of the Jamaica Wellness Tour that begins in 2006.
With regard to our relationship with Greenwich Town, we have focused our efforts on providing health services to senior citizens and educational services to young children. In 2005, the community outreach clinic operated every two weeks and we continued sponsorship of the Marcus Garvey Basic School. As is customary, the SAJ organised an annual Christmas treat for the elderly and students of the Marcus Garvey Basic School. SAJ members and staff took the time to personally assist in these programmes. We also assisted the Greenwich Town Major League Football Team to purchase gear.
OUTREACH CLINIC
The SAJ's Community Outreach Clinic serves the residents of the Greenwich Town/Kingston 13 and has been in operation since 2002. There have been approximately 2,000 visits to the clinic since its inception, and this is indicative of the demand for this service that offers free health care to the community.
The services provided include a free doctor's consultation and free medication as available. The SAJ also provides follow-up care for patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension, and for those who have been discharged from the outpatient clinics of the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH). Patients are also referred to both the emergency department and the various outpatient clinics of the KPH or the National Chest Hospital when inpatient or specialist care is deemed appropriate.
MARCUS GARVEY BASIC SCHOOL
During 2005, the SAJ maintained its sponsorship commitment to the Marcus Garvey Basic School, subsidising teachers' salaries for seven months of the school year. The association also provided subventions in other areas, such as the provision of basic medical supplies.
SAJ's sponsorship has also helped with acquiring resource materials, the school-leaving function and the annual Christmas treat for students. We must also acknowledge the direct contribution from members to the institution.
The SAJ now has two seats on the school board.
SENIOR CITIZENS' TREAT
More than 150 senior citizens of Greenwich Town benefited from meals, entertainment and gift packages of grocery items at this year's annual Christmas treat.
Senior citizens in the community look forward to this event with great anticipation and express heartfelt appreciation for the gifts, as well as for the efforts of SAJ members and staff to make their Christmas a happy one.
This outreach programme is closely monitored to ensure that only persons who are genuinely in need receive the benefits.
KSAFA UNDER-15 FOOTBALL COMPETITION
The local shipping industry, led by the SAJ, joined forces with the KSAFA in support of this year's Under-15 competition for the Winston Chung Fah Trophy that kicked off in June.
Charles Johnston, executive chairman of Jamaica Freight & Shipping Ltd. and a past president of the SAJ, was instrumental in garnering the support of the shipping fraternity to the tune of $500,000 that covered prize monies, referee fees, administrative costs and trophies and awards.
At the awards function, KSAFA President Stewart Stephenson thanked the sponsors from the local shipping industry on behalf of the 25 Under-15 teams in Kingston and St. Andrew that participated in the competition. The sponsors were: the Shipping Association of Jamaica; Jamaica Freight and Shipping; Kingston Wharves Limited; Seaboard Jamaica; Maritime Towing Limited and Port Contractors Limited.
Harry Maragh, president of the SAJ, presented the Winston Chung Fah Trophy and prize money of $80,000 to Meadhaven United, the top team in the competition, which defeated the Tivoli Gardens Under-15s 1-0 in the finals.
The SAJ president congratulated all the top performers and had a special word of encouragement for the youngsters. Mr. Maragh said: "I want to encourage you young men to consider a career in shipping even as you study to pass all your exams with the highest grades. Shipping is a very vibrant and growing industry that requires the brightest and healthiest people. The industry employs a wide range of professionals such as engineers, pilots, accountants, stevedores and shipping agents."
SAJ MOBILE CLINIC
The SAJ's mobile clinic was donated to the May Pen Hospital for a period of six months, from January to June, following on the damage that Hurricane Ivan had caused to their outpatient clinic.
The Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) expressed its great appreciation for the use of the mobile clinic, which, they said, "allowed us to continue providing quality health care services to the people of Clarendon".
The staff of the Clarendon Health Services presented the SAJ with a certificate of appreciation for our contribution.
GUYANA FLOOD RELIEF
The SAJ president led an initiative of the association to provide assistance to the people of Guyana who were worst affected by Hurricane Ivan. Through this effort, we were able to garner industry support to the extent that we were able to fill two containers with much-needed supplies that were sent (one each) to the Guyana Red Cross and Guyana Food For the Poor.
OTHER SPONSORSHIPS/DONATIONS
In addition to major sponsorships, the SAJ has also supported or assisted other charities in the areas of health, education, sports and social upliftment. We have developed an application system to help ensure that our support is directed at the most worthwhile charities. The charities supported include:
Heart Foundation of Jamaica
The Jamaica Cancer Society
University of Technology
Mustard Seed Communities
Jamaica Association for the Deaf
Boys' Town All-Age School
Mona Rehabilitation Centre
Save the Children Foundation
SAJ-SPONSORED AWARDS
During 2005, the SAJ sponsored two major awards:
The JEA Exporter Award
Jamaica Gypsum and Quarries Limited was presented with the SAJ Award for being 'The Exporter with the Highest Tonnage in 2004'.
UTech Administrative Management Award
The SAJ award for outstanding achievement in the Bachelor of Science degree in administrative management at the University of Technology was presented in April to Simone Ferguson-Treston. She was named 'Best Full-Time Administrative Management Student' and is currently working toward being a chartered accountant.
