Time is flying by for me, as I am sure it is for all of you reading this newsletter. Here is a summary of FOJ ‘runnings’ since January.

Late January found me on a short trip for R&R and FOJ business in Negril. You might remember reading about our project of teaching Neonatal Resuscitation Classes in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. We taught the first two regions, Kingston and Montego Bay, in November. The classes were a success. Considering the logistics of planning by email and phone between the Ministry and FOJ, I am very pleased with the success of this pioneering project. The classes teach healthcare workers what to do if a baby is born and is not breathing. The course is the “gold standard” in the US, but has never been available throughout Jamaica before this project. (I had been teaching classes at Sav la Mar Public Hospital since 2004 in an unofficial capacity.) The Ministry’s goal is to reduce the infant mortality rate in Jamaica. Improving resuscitation techniques will help achieve that goal. Helping a baby breathe properly at birth will help prevent brain damage and death that results from lack of oxygen to the brain. After analyzing the first sessions and preparing a report, the team of instructors and I have been busy preparing the plan for the next regions that will make the classes even more effective. The next classes will be conducted the first week of May in Anotto Bay and Mandeville. We are in need of funds to pay for these sessions. If you would like to help with this important project, your donations will help pay for 4 all day sessions. Donations will also help purchase manuals that are used to teach the class.

During my short January trip, I also checked on the projects FOJ has funded recently. Roof repair at Happy Hearts School was completed, as well as improvements to the bathroom to prevent flooding during heavy rain. The principal, Miss Clark, painted the interior of the school and it is looking wonderful. It is a vast improvement over my first glimpse of the school right after Hurricane Ivan.

Friends of Jamaica recently shipped two donated incubators to the public hospital in Sav la Mar.

They had not one functioning incubator before one was recently donated by another group. At times, the NICU at the hospital has up to 10 premature babies needing the additional warmth of an incubator. A donation for this project would help pay for the trucking cost to get them to Florida where Food for the Poor shipped them to Jamaica at no cost to FOJ. We were able to get a 65% discount from the trucking company, but the cost was still significant at $265.

This project at the Torrington School just outside Sav la Mar had not yet begun in January. The temporary outdoor classroom was full the day I visited. I met the principal, Mrs Brathwaite. She was overjoyed to get partial funding from a fundraiser held by a FOJ member, to build a proper addition to the school. There are currently 130 enrolled students at this overcrowded school. The school will need more funding to complete the project. If you can spare even $10 or $20, your donation will make a difference to this wonderful school.

A new project in the planning stages is a volunteer opportunity for a new FOJ member. She and a friend will be painting the Mr. Airy All Age School during their trip to Negril in July. She is also holding a fundraiser to provide assistance to the school. The objective of the project is to provide at least one computer, along with school supplies and a monetary grant to the school. FOJ is providing assistance with paint and painting supplies, and also is providing the tax benefit of our Not-for-profit status to encourage donations. The money raised will be donated to FOJ as a restricted donation, to be used exclusively for this project.

These are the highlights for the past few months for Friends of Jamaica USA. If you can, please make a donation to help with these and other worthy projects. In the near future, we will be accepting credit card donations online, but until then, please visit our website at www.friendsofjamaicausa.org to download a donation form you can send by mail. Your donation can be directed to a specific project, or can be used where needed. And remember, we still have blank note cards for sale on the website at KidsCards.

We have many outstanding grant requests that we are unable to consider right now due to lack of funding. We need your help!

If you have questions or comments about this newsletter, or any other aspects of our charity, please contact us.

Marcia Burke, Director
Friends of Jamaica USA
6417 Commonwealth Dr
Loves Park, IL 61111
815-235-8619