US-based Jamaican assists needy inner-city residents

On Wednesday, senior citizens and the less fortunate residents of Rose Town and Orange Villa in Kingston benefited from more than 200 bags of free groceries and cleaning chemicals.

The giveaway was aimed at providing a helping hand to the needy during this trying and unprecedented period. The event, dubbed 'Love thy Neighbour', was organised by Juan Johnson, 33, and Michael Chin, 27.

Johnson, who originates from St Elizabeth, is currently living in the US. He reached out to his friend Chin, who is living in Jamaica, to plan the giveaway.

"I did something like this in St Elizabeth because that's where I'm originally from. I assisted 50 people down there last week. I have friends in Kingston and when I come to Jamaica, I stay in Kingston, so I called my friend Michael and told him I think we should do it in Kingston too," Johnson told THE WEEKEND STAR. "It's very hard for a lot of people. I'm in a position to help, so I decided to help."

Johnson, the CEO of IronBirdExpress, says the reaction from the people has filled him with the desire to be more altruistic and assist more people through this crisis.

"I never knew so many people would come out. Just seeing that a lot of people came out and they were happy and smiling, it was really great. It wasn't something that we planned weeks or months ago ... I just called Michael last week and we did it," he said. "More people who have it, I feel like they should help."

Meanwhile, Chin, 'the man on the ground', says he did about two days of shopping to source all the groceries and cleaning agents.

"Each bag has like 15 items. You have like mackerel, corned beef, sardine, rice and flour. We also gave them bleach, soap and toilet paper. I shopped around and got the different quotations and thing," he said.