Refuge of Hope Shelter Gets Supplies from Students of VTDI

The Refuge of Hope Shelter in Albion, St. James, has received a donation of supplies from Team Elevation, a group of students from the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI).

Comprised of project management students of the VTDI, the group donated medical supplies, seedlings, farm tools, among other items, to the facility as part of their school project.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at the facility on May 3, Project Coordinator of the group, Carol Heron-Meggo, said that while there were other projects being considered by the group, the work of Refuge of Hope struck a chord.

“This project [at Refuge of Hope] we thought would contribute the most to persons [in need],” she said, adding that the issue of homelessness could happen to anyone, which was another reason the facility was chosen.

Mrs. Heron-Meggo also lauded the facility for their efforts on their quest to become self-sufficient enough to meet the needs of their residents.

“One of the things we admire the most is that the administration of this facility has not taken the position of sitting down but has taken the initiative to set up an egg-selling business, and to plant vegetables to feed its residents, with hopes of eventually becoming self-sufficient,” she said.

Donations were garnered by the students from several organisations, including the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which donated medical supplies, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), which gave farming tools and seedlings. Funds were also raised by the group, which was used to purchase chicken feed to support the facility’s egg-selling programme.

In an interview with journalists after the handover ceremony, Mrs. Heron-Meggo noted that the group underwent several challenges in acquiring some of the donated items; however, they persevered.

For her part, Shelter Manager at Refuge of Hope, Junice Woolery-Norman, thanked the students as well as donors of the items.

“We want to thank them for what they have done… those of you [donors] who have sown into this have sown into good ground. I promise you that it will be returned to you 100-fold, because it is the word of the Lord, and that is what we believe,” she said.

The Refuge of Hope is operated by the Open Heart Charitable Mission through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the St. James Municipal Corporation. The shelter was opened in 2009 and caters to the homeless and the indigent, and rehabilitates persons addicted to narcotics in Montego Bay and its environs.