JNBS Donates to Ebenezer Home Farming Project

The Ebenezer Home for the Mentally Challenged in Manchester has received $100,000 from the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation to expand its farming project.
The funds will be used to expand the chicken house, establish a rabbit hutch and set up pens for goats and pigs. The money will also cover the cost for minor landscaping to the premises, which it shares with the Manchester Infirmary.
Chairman of the Home, Rev. Clarister Johnson, thanked JNBS for the donation.
“With this project, we anticipate being able to secure a vital and continuous source of food for residents at the home. We want to generate income for day-to-day operations and introduce a skills training programme that will also be therapeutic for our clients. Achieving our goals will require additional funds, but we are grateful for the generosity of the JNBS Foundation,” she stated.
The Ebenezer Home farming venture was selected from a pool of projects recommended by persons, who attended this year’s Denbigh Agricultural Show in Clarendon.
Livestock Officer with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Ms. Marily Lindo, who works closely with the facility, informed that at Denbigh, she was asked by JNBS personnel to fill out a card with a community project of her choice and she recommended the home.
“Thankfully we were chosen. The project will offer residents a skill, a hobby, therapy, and the means through which they could become productive citizens. It has the built-in potential to improve their chances to enjoy some of the normal things we sometimes take for granted,” she stated.
The Ebenezer Home cares for, and assists in the rehabilitation of mentally challenged persons, some of whom are homeless. The residents are provided with short-term accommodation, while attempts are made to reunite them with their families.