Correctional Officer Feeds St. Ann Shut-Ins On January 1
By: , January 4, 2022
Photo: Contributed
Correctional Officer at the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre, in St. Catherine, Donovan Small (left), presents a box of cooked meal and bottled water to Ashton Houston during a visit to his home in Philadelphia, St. Ann, on January 1, as part of his annual New Year’s Day feeding programme.The Full Story
Correctional Officer, Donovan Small, continued his New Year’s Day tradition of providing sumptuous cooked meals for the less fortunate across several communities in St. Ann.
Four hundred and eighty meals were delivered to the homeless and shut-ins in the communities of St. Ann’s Bay, Bamboo, Lime Hall and Philadelphia; wards at the Widow’s Mite Children’s Home in Murry Mount; and residents at the Glory and Grace Nursing Home in Brown’s Town.
Since 2014, Mr. Small has made it his duty to do this goodwill gesture on January 1.
He told JIS News that his action is in accord with his upbringing and the “will of God.”
Mr. Small said he is passionate about serving the less fortunate and urged more Jamaicans to commit to assisting vulnerable Jamaicans.
The Correctional Officer, who is employed to the Rio Cobre Juvenile Correctional Centre, in St. Catherine, shared that the feeding programme was made possible through the continued support of relatives, friends and his church, the Bamboo United Pentecostal Church.
Mr. Small does not rule out the possibility of expanding the reach of the programme in coming years.
“I don’t think I will stop because we feel so excited to be doing this and we found a new location in St. Ann. We are looking forward to next year and I know it is going to get bigger,” he said.
In the meantime, volunteer, Shanoya Wallace, said it was an easy choice to give back to those in need, and help strengthen the network of support for the programme.
“It has always been in me to give back to my community. I am aware that there are shut-ins who cannot come out [and] help themselves, so it is really a great pleasure to be part of a movement like this and it not only shows that we are capable of helping others but our willingness to go out of our way to reach those who cannot come out,” she said.
Eighty-four-year-old Ilean DaCosta of Lime Hall, St. Ann, expressed appreciation for Mr. Small’s efforts when he turned up at her home with the meal.
“Mr. Small [is] alright and he brings food to the old people… and I am happy,” she said.
Meanwhile, Operator of the Glory and Grace Nursing Home, Sandra-Dean Smith, said she is grateful for the kindness extended to the residents of the nursing home.
“The Glory and Grace Nursing Home wants to say a big thank you for what you have been doing for the past two years. We really appreciate it and we hope you will continue doing this for us,” she said.