Rotary Club dedicated to empowering Maverley

The Rotary Club of Trafalgar New Heights (RCTNH), under the leadership of newly inducted president, attorney-at-law Franchesca Francis, will be accelerating its mission to “empower Maverley”, a challenged community in nortwestern St Andrew, to which the club has been directing initiatives for 16 of its 18-year history.

In accepting the mantle of president of RCTNH during a recent ceremony at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew, Francis pledged the club’s continued support for the community, where it will provide skills training and support for job placement for at least 20 residents over the course of the next year.

“Our major project, ‘Empowering Maverley’, was born out of a needs assessment conducted through questionnaires and conversations with residents and community stakeholders,” she explained in her first address as president to her fellow Rotarians, including newly inducted District Governor, Professor William ‘Bill’ Aiken, well-known urologist and head of the Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, and Emergency Medicine at the Mona campus of The University of the West Indies.

“In a community where many young people face barriers to employment and education, this programme is a meaningful step towards empowerment. Through partnerships with training institutions and businesses, we aim not just to train, but to create real, lasting opportunities. This is vocational service at its core – enhancing skills, building dignity, and creating sustainable change,” she declared.

Her remarks follow on the club’s organisation and staging of the ‘Rise and Thrive’ Maverley Economic Expo in April, which successfully brought together private-sector recruiters, financial institutions, and state training and other government agencies to scores of residents who poured into the Maverley Primary and Infant School to access the services and information. Several benefited from job interviews; information on skills training; passport, and birth and death certificate registration. They were also able to gather information on how to access financing for micro and small business start-ups and opening a bank account.

The economic expo is in addition to an annual back-to-school health fair staged by the club exclusively for the community, and an annual etiquette training session, in partnership with the University of Technology, Jamaica’s School of Hospitality for grade-six students of the Maverley Primary and Infant School.

The club also recently provided smart tablets donated by the Universal Service Fund to the school, and will be donating more ahead of the start of the new school year.

“Our club’s ongoing presence in the Maverley community has shown us that transformation happens when we listen, engage, and remain committed,” Francis underscored.

She committed that “this year, we will continue to engage the various stakeholders in the community and execute projects that reflect Rotary’s avenues of service.”

Among the projects will be the acquisition and donation of an automated external defibrillator (AED) to benefit not only Maverley, but also surrounding communities. The equipment helps to resuscitate a person experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training will also be provided to residents. The initiative is in keeping with the district governor’s focus for the year to empower peoples of the 10 Caribbean countries in Rotary District 7020 with managing cardiovascular health and disease.

“Heart disease and related conditions remain one of the leading causes of death across the island. Too often, lives are lost or permanently altered simply because communities lack access to immediate, life-saving tools and knowledge. As a result, our club will prioritise a ‘Community Heart Health Campaign’,” Francis announced. Health talks on cardiovascular health and screenings are also scheduled for the club’s upcoming back-to-school health fair on August 30.

“These interventions, although simple, have the power to prevent deaths and reduce complications from cardiovascular events. When someone suffers from sudden cardiac arrest, immediate CPR and access to an AED can increase survival rates by as much as 70 per cent. Imagine how many lives could be saved if more of our communities had that knowledge and access,” she declared.

Her facts were backed up by District Governor Professor Aiken, who outlined that where defibrillators are accessible, deaths by sudden cardiac arrest are significantly reduced.

In commending the club and its efforts, guest speaker at the RCTNH installation ceremony, Rachel McDonald, an educator and founder of Di Cawna Library in the inner-city community of Rose Town, challenged members of RCTNH to be diligent and to remain dynamic in their efforts to drive development.

“I encourage you to continue expanding the table - to bring new voices, to invite new perspectives; unite for good in ways that are visible, invisible; in ways that are big and in ways that are small,” she urged, noting that each action will compound over time to deliver great impact.

Seemingly echoing the guest speaker’s challenge, the club inducted two new members into its fold - Lu’Shana Cheddesingh, an attorney, realtor and certified project manager, and Thriecia Tyndale, a marketer and customer service professional - as it installed its new board of directors and president for the Rotary year 2025-2026.