National Honouree on a Medical Mission to Help Jamaicans

Approximately 50,000 residents in marginalised communities islandwide have benefitted from free healthcare under the auspices of the HELP Jamaica Medical Mission (HELPJaMM).

The Mission is a United States-based non-profit medical organisation.

It aims to provide free quality healthcare in Jamaica and New Jersey, USA.

The organisation was founded in 2010 by Jamaican-born physician, Dr. Robert Clarke, a clinical instructor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey, where he was trained.

Between September 6 and 14, he led a delegation of 30 persons to Jamaica, after a four-year absence, to provide free healthcare, medicine and medical advice to the less fortunate.

Over 4,000 individuals were catered to at various locations in Kingston, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Thomas and St. Catherine.

This is the 16th year that the Mission has helped to improve the health status of Jamaicans.

Dr. Clarke’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, as he was conferred with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander (CD) during the National Honours and Awards Ceremony at King’s House on October 16.

He was honoured for outstanding contribution in the field of Medicine and Philanthropy.

“I feel humbled. I feel honoured. I am touched by the gesture because I really wasn’t looking for it. When you have that passion, you put your head down and you work and if you look up and the sun starts shining, that’s fine, you just work,” he says in response to his selection for the award.

Dr. Clarke tells JIS News that he was working at his New Jersey-based office when he got a call about the award.

“A young lady from the Prime Minister’s office called and gave me the wonderful news,” he shares.

Dr. Clarke, who is the immediate Past President of the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organisations (NAJASO), says he has always given back to Jamaica in “one way or another.”

“Even though I am living abroad, my heart and soul [are in Jamaica],” he points out.

As President and founding member of Jamaican Physicians Abroad, and Chief Medical Adviser for the Northeast Diaspora in the USA, Dr. Clarke says he was inspired to give back because of his humble beginnings.

“I grew up in Trench Town, went to Trench Town Primary and Trench Town High. I know what poverty is. I know what needing stuff is. I want to give back because I have seen in my community what it can do for the poor who can’t afford health care. It has just given me the passion to give back; so, it was very easy for me,” he adds.

A medical practitioner for more than 20 years, Dr. Clarke recalled his two-week visit to Jamaica during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

At the time, he led a team of doctors and nurses, including health personnel of the Jamaicans Abroad Helping Jamaicans at Home (JAHJAH) Foundation, to work at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in Westmoreland.

The Foundation is a US-based nonprofit organisation that has been participating in the upliftment of Jamaica since its establishment in 2007.
Its mission is to engage the Jamaican Diaspora, and friends of Jamaica globally, to assist with the country’s development.

“We went to Savanna-la-Mar Hospital for three months. There [were] a lot of COVID [cases]. They were a bit short staff. I led the initial team for two weeks just to see how well we could help,” Dr. Clarke says.

He tells JIS News that he had no reservations about coming to Jamaica, despite concerns expressed by his family and friends about the extent of the island’s COVID-19 case count.

“When you sign up to be a physician, the motto is ‘do no harm’ and you are to help heal the sick; that is what I signed up for. So I have to put other people’s lives ahead of what I might feel, because we are here to heal the sick,” the medical practitioner underscores, while advising that he plans to return to Jamaica in 2024.

Apart from his scheduled annual visits, Dr. Clarke says he comes to Jamaica periodically to conduct follow-ups with some of his clients.

“When I came for this award, I did follow-up visits with a couple of patients to find out how they were doing, and if I could modify their treatment, or whatever the case might’ve been,” he indicates.

Among the other accolades Dr. Clarke has received over the years for his work as a trailblazer in medicine are several US Congressional awards and honors from the US Northeast Diaspora.