Trelwany Outreach Project

The Trelawny Outreach Project (TOP) is a charitable project supported by Rotary Clubs in Rotary District 6290 (including portions of Michigan and Ontario) and by the Rotary Clubs of Montego Bay and Montego Bay East. The project operates through a 501-C-3 non-profit foundation. The Rotary Clubs of Grand Haven, Holland, Muskegon, and Spring Lake, Michigan provide the directors and the funding for the foundation. International Aid, a Christian relief organization, is a partner in the project, and assists with the shipping of medical and humanitarian supplies. The Flying Physicians Association is also a partner and has provided many physician volunteers.

The Trelawny Outreach Project has provided general medical care through medical volunteers serving in the public health clinics of Trelawny Parish, Jamaica since 1991, dental care since 1995, and eye surgery since 1996. Necessary medical equipment, supplies, and medication have been shipped to Jamaica one to two times each year, to improve the quality of health care services.

Three Rotary Foundation grants have assisted the project. The first matching grant enabled the project to purchase a Subaru station wagon driven by medical volunteers. The second matching grant was utilized to purchase eye surgical equipment. A Discovery Grant" was utilized to support a humanitarian needs assessment in 1998.

In 1998 the project was broadened to address educational and community needs in Falmouth and surrounding areas of Trelawny Parish. Rotary teacher volunteers have assisted in the Salvation Army School and the Denis Tobin Preparatory School in Falmouth, Jamaica. Donated materials have also been provided to the Kitchen of Love, a soup kitchen for the elderly, the HART vocational school, and the Public Health Infirmary in Falmouth. Donated computers are now in use in the Falmouth Public Library, the Falmouth hospital, and in several Falmouth area schools.

Site-visits in 1998 and 1999 included needs assessments for mental health care, and in January 2000 Rotary volunteers conducted mental health training for pubic health workers from all of the island's parishes. The Rotary mental health volunteers also conducted a public education program on Jamaican radio, soliciting community support for the needs of the mentally ill.