IT might not have been as grand as in previous years, but visitors to the most recent Women's Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC) health fair were not short-changed when it came to getting access to the critical health services which they have grown accustomed to receiving at the annual event.
"We said let's just have it on a regular clinic day so that people can have access to the services, see the doctor, and we can have a variety of booths and sponsors and organisations on board," explained the centre's communication officer Anna-Kaye Rowe.
WROC was forced to scale down this year due to budgetary constraints, however, Rowe assured that "every effort was made to ensure that the event was still wholesome".
"Our funding for this activity was cut significantly so we did have to prioritise, but what we did was to make sure to target much more of the business places and the schools," she said.
The health day was sponsored by the CHASE Fund and also saw several sponsors and booth holders offering their services at the centre's Beechwood Avenue offices. They included the Red Cross, which offered HIV testing and counselling, and the Ministry of Health HIV/STI programme which also carried out HIV and syphilis testing.
On location, too, were representatives from the Diabetes Association of Jamaica who did blood sugar/glucose testing, the Fish Clinic which did eye testing and Nestle which did BMI, cholesterol, weight and height measurements, in addition to offering nutritional advice. Meanwhile, PA Benjamin Limited and the Facey Group were also on hand to promote some of their offerings.
Rowe said that although the perception still lingers that WROC's services are only geared towards women, a number of men were in attendance at the event. When the All Woman team visited the location, some were seen getting the various tests done.
"It is open to the entire community, so they can know what we are doing here," said Rowe.
Apart from the family clinic, WROC also offers free counselling services, a homework programme, and the services of a dermatologist who comes in once per month.
"People in the area might not be able to afford these services (elsewhere), so we are trying to bring them here to let them know that this is something else that we offer in addition to all the other activities which are not limited to women, because people do think that we are pretty much [open only] to women," she said.
Although people from all over access their resources, Rowe said that most who visit the facility are from nearby communities such as Trench Town, Maxfield Avenue, Greenwich Town, Lyndhurst and Torrington Park.
The event, which was normally hosted on the weekend, took the form of a health day this year, but was just as effective at bringing the community together. The health day was hosted last Wednesday, since this was the day the non-government organisation would normally have its family clinic.
Lisa-Ann Todd gets a lesson in nutrition and wellness from Nestle representative Shanika Morgan (right). (PHOTO: KARL MCLARTY)
   Lisa-Ann Todd gets a lesson in nutrition and wellness from Nestle representative Shanika Morgan (right). (PHOTO: KARL MCLARTY) #slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}  1/1  |
WROC was forced to scale down this year due to budgetary constraints, however, Rowe assured that "every effort was made to ensure that the event was still wholesome".
"Our funding for this activity was cut significantly so we did have to prioritise, but what we did was to make sure to target much more of the business places and the schools," she said.
The health day was sponsored by the CHASE Fund and also saw several sponsors and booth holders offering their services at the centre's Beechwood Avenue offices. They included the Red Cross, which offered HIV testing and counselling, and the Ministry of Health HIV/STI programme which also carried out HIV and syphilis testing.
On location, too, were representatives from the Diabetes Association of Jamaica who did blood sugar/glucose testing, the Fish Clinic which did eye testing and Nestle which did BMI, cholesterol, weight and height measurements, in addition to offering nutritional advice. Meanwhile, PA Benjamin Limited and the Facey Group were also on hand to promote some of their offerings.
Rowe said that although the perception still lingers that WROC's services are only geared towards women, a number of men were in attendance at the event. When the All Woman team visited the location, some were seen getting the various tests done.
"It is open to the entire community, so they can know what we are doing here," said Rowe.
Apart from the family clinic, WROC also offers free counselling services, a homework programme, and the services of a dermatologist who comes in once per month.
"People in the area might not be able to afford these services (elsewhere), so we are trying to bring them here to let them know that this is something else that we offer in addition to all the other activities which are not limited to women, because people do think that we are pretty much [open only] to women," she said.
Although people from all over access their resources, Rowe said that most who visit the facility are from nearby communities such as Trench Town, Maxfield Avenue, Greenwich Town, Lyndhurst and Torrington Park.