US-based pastor gives back to Clarendon

While some are afraid to venture into the troubled communities of Farm/Effortville in Clarendon, Jamaica-born pastor Emmanuel Azan sees it as his duty to make a difference.

Last month, he made his annual trek to the island, bearing gifts in various communities in Clarendon and Manchester.

In Farm/Effortville, he treated children to back-to-school supplies and interacted with parents.

"I can't allow fear to cripple my ministry. The needs are still there, and they still need someone to show them that they care," Azan told THE STAR.

On this mission trip, Azan also took football gear, wheelchairs, and crutches, which he donated to the May Pen Hospital.

"On my last visit last year, my wife took sick, and she had to stay in the May Pen Hospital. I noticed that they did not have a lot of wheelchairs, and it was then I resolved that on my next visit, I would do something about it," he said.

The pastor, who is a member of the Faith Outreach Church of Clarksville in Tennessee, hails from May Pen.

He said living overseas has not dulled him to the hardships his fellow Jamaicans face, especially those from the parish of his birth.

Azan expressed sorrow at the escalating crime wave in the parish and said he believes that with enough intervention programmes and more Christians making it their mandate to make a difference, things can turn around.