SDC Spearheads Several Community Outreach Activities in St. Catherine

The St. Catherine Parish Office of the Social Development Commission (SDC) is spearheading several community outreach activities over the coming weeks to promote health and economic well-being.

Among the planned engagements is a ‘Pop-Up and Wellness Stop’ to be held at the Greendale Early Childhood Institution on Wednesday, May 27, beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Parish Manager for the agency, Shana-Lee Archibald, told the monthly meeting of the St. Catherine Municipal Corporation, held on May 14 in Spanish Town, that a town hall meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24, at the SDC Parish Office in the town.

The Parish Manager further advised that the SDC will host its quarterly Economic Village at the parish office on Friday, May 22, starting at 8:00 a.m. The initiative, she explained, provides an avenue for local nano and micro enterprises, including farmers, to showcase and sell their goods while promoting entrepreneurship and stimulating economic activity across the parish.

Miss Archibald also used the opportunity to commend the ongoing partnership between the SDC and the Municipal Corporation, particularly acknowledging the support of Parish Disaster Coordinator, Yasheka Jathan Thompson.

She noted that SDC community liaison officers recently assisted with the verification of shelter managers throughout the parish, identified managers for newly designated shelters and helped source replacements where previous managers were unable or unwilling to continue serving.

Additionally, she disclosed that the SDC recently reassessed more than 80 community centres across St. Catherine to determine their suitability for use as emergency shelters during the hurricane season and other disaster-related events.

She encouraged Councillors to actively participate in civil society organisation and community meetings within their divisions, noting that the SDC remains committed to empowering communities, strengthening participatory local governance and maintaining close collaboration with the Municipal Corporation in advancing community development initiatives across the parish.

The Parish Manager said the agency is continuing its partnership with the Ministry of Health and Wellness through the Health System Strengthening Programme (HSSP), aimed at improving public awareness and community engagement surrounding the expansion of health infrastructure across the parish.

Miss Archibald said the programme seeks to strengthen community understanding regarding several major health projects now under way in St. Catherine. These include the expansion and development of the Spanish Town Hospital, the Old Harbour Comprehensive Health Centre, the St. Jago Park Health Centre, and the Greater Portmore Health Centre.

The SDC, which is an agency of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, has a mission to empower citizens and facilitate their participation in an integrated, equitable, and sustainable national development process, and envisions a Jamaican society where all citizens actively participate in development and benefit from good governance, economic prosperity, a sustainable environment, and social well-being.