Left: Sean Smith (standing), financial controller of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), gives a warm greeting to senior citizens during the recent Christmas treat that the SAJ stages annually for golden agers of the Greenwich Town community. The treat includes lunch, gift packages and a programme of entertainment that includes Christmas carols by the SAJ choir.   Right: Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) staffers are busy serving lunch for the senior citizens of Greenwich Town during the annual luncheon hosted by the SAJ. Employees also formed a choir to keep the golden agers entertained at the luncheon which was held last week on the SAJ premises in Newport West.

The weekly Shipping feature will be on a break and returns on January 9, 2007. Happy holidays!

The Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) ends the year with traditional activities that bring cheer to the young and the elderly of the Greenwich Town community, including a Christmas fun day for the students of the Marcus Garvey Basic School and a senior citizens luncheon for golden agers.

These events are only a part of the ongoing involvement of the SAJ, because the association 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 again sponsored the KSAFA Under-15 tournament and assisted Boys' Town in purchasing gear for their football team.

With regard to the SAJ's relationship with Greenwich Town, the association has focused its efforts on providing health services to senior citizens and educational services to young children.

Outreach clinic

Santa Claus brought gifts for the children of the Marcus Garvey Basic School during the annual Christmas treat put on by the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ). The SAJ is the major sponsor of the Greenwich Town, southern St. Andrew, school. - Contributed

The SAJ's Community Outreach Clinic serves the residents of the Greenwich Town/Kingston 13 community and has been in operation since 2002. There have been thousands of visits to the clinic since its inception, and this is indicative of the demand for this service that offers free health care.

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 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.