BETHEL UNITED
BASIC SCHOOL
In
February 1973 the Bethel Basic School was started with five children, two teachers
and two ancillary staff members. The school received official government recognition
by the following year and continued to grow. In fact it outgrew its original
space and a new school building was built in 1990 at 22 South Camp Road.
Today there are over 160 children, seven teachers and two ancillary staff members. The Basic School has become one of the main and most sustained projects of Project HELP.
ADOPT-A-CHILD
PROGRAMME
Children
selling goods at the stop light, jostling to clean a car windshield, and hustling
with parents along the busy thoroughfare of Downtown Kingston. Scenes witnessed
everyday in Kingston as children from inner city communities such as Franklyn
Town, Allman Town and Southside try to earn their next meal.
Another teenager is locked away behind bars... a familiar headline in the daily newspapers and heard across the airwaves. Who will rescue the perishing, and care for the dying. This is the cry which the Adopt-A-Child programme seeks to address. The Adopt-A-Child programme is part of the Bethel United Project HELP, an outreach arm of the Bethel United Church of Jesus Christ (Apostolic). Started in 1992, the project was born out of a recognition of the effects of poverty on children within the church communities.
The Adopt-A-Child programme facilitates the positive growth and development of destitute children within their own family setting. Through this programme children from depressed communities within the environs of the church are provided with basic necessities such as food and clothing. Along with the food, clothing, schoolbooks and school fees comes the message that God loves them, and that they are special.
Under the programme:
Interested persons apply for sponsorship by letter, walk-in, telephone, or referral from a school. To assess their particular needs, officers of the church interview the child's parents. The child's home is visited to establish validity of requests and to hold discussions with other members of the household. References are also required for applicants. In addition, the child's school is visited and discussions held with teachers and principal.
This project is funded through generous contributions from the church membership. Sponsorship from private companies/individuals is welcome.
BELLEVUE
This
project evolved out of a concern for the unfortunate and shut in of our society.
The Women's Department adopted the Female B Ward of the Bellevue Hospital, a
ward consisting of 122 beds. This ward was destroyed by Hurricane Gilbert and
as a result another ward was adopted.
The objectives are:
From time to time members visit the ward and offer any assistance which may be needed.