The Percy Junior Hospital in Spalding, Manchester in collaboration with the group, ‘Friends of the Hospital’, which has given tremendous assistance to this institution in numerous ways over many decades, staged their second labour day project at the Knox Hill reservoir water-catchment area on Monday May 23.
The reservoir is the sole source of water supply to that hospital. This makes its preservation of significant importance because when it goes dry, water has to be trucked to the hospital, an avenue which proves to be extremely expensive. It has been supplying the hospital with water since its inception in 1945. The reservoir had its last major repair job done in 1989 when it was severely damaged by hurricane Gilbert, necessitating extensive repairs to its roof and other areas.
Present at the site were some 30 or more individuals including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Leslie Campbell, past CEO, Stanhope Scott, Matron Jacqueline Pennicook, Winston Jones, the hospital’s chief maintenance officer, other staff and board members and Friends of the Hospital.
When Go-local Jamaica’s representative visited and spoke to workers on the site, they were all cheerful, enthusiastic and excited about what they were doing. There were some 15-20 men, all geared with shovels, machetes and buckets. Some were weeding out the grass which had grown between the openings where the concrete structure had broken, while others were carrying buckets of water to mix the cement and marl that was being prepared to patch or mend the broken areas.
Yet another group of about 10 women headed by matron Pennicook were busy in the make-shift kitchen cooking up a storm of foods to feed the busy, hard-working participants. Go-local was told that this was the second labour day project that had been undertaken at the site to repair cracks which appear from time to time on the surface, probably due to the shifting of the soil underneath.
It is such a vast span of concrete structure, that cracks of this type are imminent. Repair jobs are effected at other times as well. The hospital staff along with its “Friends” forged a mammoth task which will benefit everyone who uses the facility.
