August Town Celebrates Peace with March on May 4

The Greater August Town Ministerial Fraternity, in association with the Ministry of National Security and Jamaica Constabulary Force, will host a ‘Peace, Love and Unity March’, on Sunday, May 4, in the August Town, St. Andrew.

In an interview with JIS News, Project Manager for the event and Pastor of the Escarpment Road New Testament Church of God, Reverend Stevenson Samuels, said the march is a celebration of the considerable reduction of violence in the community.

“We have seen a 50 per cent reduction last year and a 75 per cent reduction over the last two years; so we’re celebrating this,” Reverend Samuels said.

“We are hoping to send the message to Jamaica that we are supporters of peace…we are opposed to negative elements within the community that will bring crime and violence,” he added.

The Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP), a multi-faceted crime and violence prevention initiative of the Ministry of National Security, is one of the major stakeholders in the event.

Community Action Officer for the programme, Angella Harris, says the march is a result of the extensive work being done in the area to reduce crime and violence, and urged residents to show their full support by participating in the event.

“Now is the time to break down the lines…the Minister of National Security is coming out with the Unite for Change [campaign] and this is symbolic of where the August Town residents should begin in uniting for change,” she emphasized.

The event, which is expected to begin at 2:30 p.m., will include a walk through the community with stops at strategic points for prayer and a rally, where the Minister of National Security, Hon. Peter Bunting; Commissioner of Police, Owen Ellington; and Member of Parliament for the area, Andre Hylton, are expected to make presentations. The day’s activities will end with a gospel concert.

The objectives of the peace march are to integrate and unify residents, while advocating for peace and to raise awareness against murder and other major crimes in the area and, by extension Jamaica.

Since the start of the year, there has been no murder in four of the five districts of the August Town community.