Diocese of Mandeville
Listen to an Interview with
Bishop-Elect Neil
Tiedemann
Towards a Self-Sustaining Jamaica
While the people of Jamaica continue to
need basic items such as clothing and housing, the people of Jamaica
desire to become self-sufficient so that they may eventually provide for
their own needs and for those of their families.
Fr. Peter
Njoroge has worked for many years in the Jamaican “bush,” assisting the
most destitute among the Jamaican people. Recently, he was appointed the
Social Justice Director for the Diocese of Mandeville. After conducting a
viability assessment, Fr. Peter has suggested the following small business
ventures and identified a number of people who would most likely succeed
at these ventures if they were provided with the means to begin.
These
micro-business opportunities have been divided into two categories: Farm
Jamaica focuses on assisting people with agricultural endeavors; this
program is based on the successful Heifer International program, which
strives to raise people out of poverty by providing them with agricultural
assistance. Unfortunately, Heifer International does not operate in
Jamaica, so Fr. Peter has provided the necessary information to begin a
similar program for our Jamaican brothers and sisters at the most basic
level.
The second micro-business
category is that of Small Businesses. Some of the items needed to assist
our Jamaican friends in starting businesses can be donated and shipped in
the container that the Owensboro Diocese will send to Mandeville in
October. If you have any of the items needed for one of these small
business opportunities, or if you know someone who could donate these
items, please make sure that the items are in good working order.
Items that have gas
motors must be drained of gasoline before shipping. If you can donate any
of these items, please label the item “for Fr. Peter Njoroge, Catholic
Pastoral Center, Mandeville.” Contact the Parish Office if you can donate
items needed for these small business ventures.
If you wish to
donate money for Farm Jamaica or for any of the Small Business Projects,
please make your check to the Diocese of Owensboro, indicate what you wish
the money to be used for, and that the money is for the Diocese of
Mandeville.
This is an important step
in our relationship with our Sister Diocese. While we must continue to
donate basic goods, helping our Jamaican brothers and sisters to provide
for themselves restores to them the dignity that work brings to human
life.
Monetary figures
are in US dollars.
FARM JAMAICA
Livestock
Goal: 10 -20 families each
Kid goat $50
Recommendation: Purchase a pair – male and female – for $100.
Pigs $80 for a pair
Chickens:
Chicken coop that will hold 50 chickens $100
50 chicks $120
6 bags of chicken feed $150
Agriculture
Goal: as much as we can provide
Farming seeds:
provide “seed money” to purchase carrot seeds, vegetable seeds of all
kinds, pumpkin seeds etc.
A bucket of seed potatoes $30
Farming tools
Goal: 10 people per parish x 17 parishes = 170
Machete $10
Forks $20
Pickers $30
SMALL
BUSINESS PROJECTS
The items listed here could be donated and sent on the container rather
than purchased in Jamaica.
Concrete block
making machine $4000
Goal: 5
Sewing machine
$350
Goal: 20
Car wash project:
Goal: 10
Power wash machine $500
Vacuum cleaner $300
Water and other rental facility expenses $200 per month
Lawn Services
Goal: 20-50
Lawn mowers $350
Grass cutters $300
Hair Cutting
Business
Barber chairs
Hair cutting/shaving implements
Application for
Parish Trip to Mandeville
10-3-08 |
