KINGSTON:

ver 1,000 street people and severely challenged individuals across Jamaica were fed, enter-tained and presented with gifts by Food For the Poor (FFP), in partnership with the Salvation Army on Wednesday.

Now in its 20th year, the occasion was the charity's annual Christmas treat for street people, held at Emmett Park in Kingston.

Seated under tents in a relaxed and spacious environment, the overlooked members of society enjoyed a meal of fried and baked chicken, rice and peas, beans, rolls and ham, while being entertained by the Eagles Marching Band from Spanish Town and the St. Catherine High School Choir.

Each guest was also served a slice of traditional Christmas cake and refreshments provided by Wisynco Trading Company Limited.

The over 1,000 indigents also received a gift package containing basic food items as well as a small stipend to assist with their needs.

Each year, for the month of December, FFP conducts several treats across Jamaica for basic schools, fishing villages, shut-ins, street people and the elderly.

- Contributed

OCHO RIOS, St. Ann:

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, says the Government fully supports the Canada/Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Programme and will remain committed to the initiative.

Minister Charles was speaking at the recent review meeting for the programme, held at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, in Ocho Rios. He noted that the programme has been expanded to include skilled workers in the construction and hospitality sectors, adding that a number of employers from British Columbia visited Jamaica in October to recruit workers.

He further disclosed that the ministry is collaborating with the HEART Trust/NTA, community-based training institutions, the Incorporated Masterbuilders' Association of Jamaica and other stakeholders in an effort to provide training and certification for workers to meet the demand in the local and overseas job markets.

He thanked the employers and the authorities in Canada, as well as the Canadian representatives in Jamaica, for their support and wished for them future prosperity in their enterprises and continued growth and development of the seasonal agricultural workers' programme.

- JIS

MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

The inmate public work project has been expanded to engage inmates in the repair and maintenance of public institutions such as schools, police stations and courthouses.

Senator Arthur Williams, State Minister for National Security, who was speaking at the New Broughton Sunset Rehabilitation Adult Correctional Centre in Manchester recently, said already, inmates at the Richmond Farm Adult Correctional Centre in St. Mary were engaged in repair work at the Richmond Police Station and the Zion Hill Primary School.

Also under the new thrust, inmates and correctional officers are designing and constructing a new administrative block at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston.

According to Senator Williams, various skills exist in the correctional facilities and the authorities must maximise these to ensure inmates are placed in productive work and provide services to the public.

- JIS

SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine:

Olivia 'Babsy' Grange, Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports, has announced that the Possibility Programme, run by the Office of the Prime Minister to help street boys in Kingston, will be extended to the St. Catherine capital, Spanish Town.

Minister Grange made the announcement as she addressed the annual Christmas dinner and graduation exercise of the Possibility Programme held at the Jamaica Pegasus, on December 12.

The minister expressed confidence that her colleague Member of Parliament in the Spanish Town area, Sharon Hay-Webster, would support her as the machinery was put in place for the introduction of the Possibility Programme to Spanish Town.

The minister, who was interacting with young men of the Possibility Programme for the first time on December 12, established a strong rapport with them.

Most important, the minister said, was the encouragement given to the boys to value themselves and have a wholesome sense of self-worth.

She also praised the Rotary Club of St. Andrew for its contribution of building a hostel, which accommodates as many as 32 boys.