Twenty students received grants as part of the overall free medical and physical work undertaken by approximately 5,000 young people during the annual Operation Save-a-Youth (OSAY) held on March 17, 2019, in Manchester, Jamaica. OSAY is a youth empowerment ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Central Jamaica region.
The main feature of this year’s OSAY was the community outreach projects where the youth assisted in the construction and beautification of homes in communities such as Colleyville, Victoria Town, Comfort Hall, Newport, Porus and Spur Tree.
Young people helped fix Carl Siddon’s one-bedroom broken down home that he shares with his wife and three children. Another notable project was refurbishing a one-bedroom home for a family of five in Porus, Manchester.
Members of the OSAY team, work to refurbish the home of Mr. Carl Sidon of Porus, Manchester. Photo: Courtesy of Central Jamaica Conference
“I am very grateful for the help we have received,” said Siddon. “I am giving thanks because, on my own, I would not be able to accomplish what was done for me by OSAY.”
OSAY is not only about service to the community, but since 2016 is also about empowerment through educational grants, organizers said.
According to Pastor Kevan Barnaby, youth ministries director of the church’s central region, the 20 young people, ages 13-25, who attend university, high schools and colleges received grants this year. The educational grants total approximately $385.00 US dollars (or $50,000 Jamaican currency). To qualify for a grant, each young person had to write 300 words, expressing why they deserved the educational assistance as well as provide proof that they are attending school.”
