Residents in Portland Cottage benefit from Outreach Programme

More than 200 residents of the Portland Cottage community in south Clarendon benefited from an outreach programme on May 12, organized by ‘Cooyah’, the official reggae clothing brand, in collaboration with a number of partners.
The residents accessed free medical services and clothing provided by the Northern Caribbean University (NCU). They also received medication, toiletries and food packages from companies such as Johnson and Johnson, Glaxosmithkline, Lasco, Pepsi and JamGuy. Sales/Marketing Manager for Cooyah, Andrea ‘Twiggy’ Levy, told JIS News that the outreach was organized to continue to assist the recovery process for the residents who were severely affected by Hurricane Ivan and subsequent tropical storms.
The Portland Cottage community was one of the worst affected when Hurricane Ivan lashed the island in September 2004, killing at least four persons from the community and causing widespread damage with water surges of up to 50 feet. “We’re here because we’re aware of the situation in Portland Cottage, because of the recent hurricanes and tropical storms and the devastation that took place here in this community and we decided to come in. We came here beforehand, took a look around and sorted out the needs of the people.so I got a group of doctors and nurses from Northern Caribbean University,” Miss Levy said.
Director of Health Services at NCU, Charmaine Holness, said that three doctors, three nurses, the Director for Social Development at NCU and two student workers from the university carried out the medical component of the outreach programme.
“We did medical check-ups, including blood sugar and blood pressure checks, and we also did counselling,” Nurse Holness explained.
Dr. Everton McKintosh, a member of the health services committee at NCU, said that they also provided diabetes and hypertensive medication, pain tablets, and medication for asthma and skin problems.
Thomas Collins, a beneficiary, said that he was very happy for the assistance.
“I came here today because I was feeling sick and I have benefited from the medical services, medication and the packages. I’m very happy I was able to come, because I’m a widower and I don’t have much help to look after me now, so I’m very grateful for all that I’ve gotten today,” he told JIS News.