THE NATIONAL Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) has put in place a programme to allow seniors' clubs to get loans of up to $5,000, at an interest rate of 10 per cent, and grants of up to $5,000 for income-generating ventures.
The project is part of a slate of programmes by the Government to improve the lives of the elderly, said the Clarendon parish organiser for the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Valrie Osbourne.
Other programmes to assist seniors include the Jamaica Drugs for the Elderly Programme, concessionary fares, a laundry service and a meals-on-wheels project.
Mrs. Osbourne was speaking at a recent NCSC regional awards ceremony at the St. James Methodist Church Hall in Clarendon.
Rev. Kathleen Daley of the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, the guest speaker at the function, urged "seniors (to) lend their contribution to the restoration of personal values in Jamaica."
Fourteen senior citizens were awarded certificates for helping to maintain peace in their communities. Trophies and certificates were also presented to senior citizens' clubs for art and craft and culinary skills.
