Scout Association Supports COVID-19 Response

The Scout Association of Jamaica has been supporting the Government’s efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by donating sanitisation products valued at some $100,000 to childcare facilities and golden age homes across the island.

In an interview with JIS News, Chief Commissioner of the Association, Garth Russell, said that distribution of bleach and disinfectant commenced earlier this month and is being supported by the Joan Duncan Foundation.

He noted that some 30 children’s and golden age homes across the body’s 15 active districts are to benefit from the support.

Mr. Russell said the Association felt compelled to play its part to minimise the impact of the virus on vulnerable persons.

“A key principle in scouting is to help people. What we have done is to ask the manufacturers to put the [bleach and disinfectant] in five-gallon containers for each of our scouting districts. The manager in these districts… called district commissioners, they identify about two locations within the district, either a childcare facility or golden age home. They make contact with persons responsible at those facilities and make arrangements to deliver,” he told JIS News.

The Ebenezer and St. Paul’s Golden Age Home in Kingston, West Haven Children’s Home in Hanover and the Mustard Seed Communities in St. James are among the facilities that have already benefited from the initiative.

Meanwhile, Mr. Russell said that the organisation will make available to the Government, two medical tents, which can be used in the event that emergency departments at hospitals become overrun with patients requiring care during the COVID-19 crisis.

He noted that the Scout Association has been using social media platforms to highlight health and safety guidelines relating to COVID-19.

“We created a very short informational video, being circulated on Facebook right now, talking about how to keep the hands clean, how to do social distancing and other safety practices,” Mr. Russell said.

The Scout Association of Jamaica was formed in 1910, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1963.

Key among the Association’s mission are developing members into well-rounded citizens, and instilling in them a sense of self-reliance and camaraderie.