Rural St Andrew native committed to uplifting home town

A gun attack more than two decades ago, tainted the image of the quaint hillside community of Rock Hall, located in West Rural St Andrew.

But at least one resident, Richard Bentley Davis, is working assiduously to restore peace and tranquillity to the hills through sports and community outreach programmes.

"Rock Hall went through a lot of violence, and at one point violence saturated the whole community, specifically Rock Hall and Burkewood," Davis said, referring to the 2002 flare-up, in which seven people were murdered by gunmen.

"I know that the community love sports and I decided that I am going to use sports and bring back the community, to bring back the love and peace. Right now, it is better than a decade ago, the place is developing and people are enjoying the sports," Davis said. He explained that through football, he has been able to uplift the community and has formed his own community outreach organisation, International Youth Charity Foundation, which has been in operation since the early 2000s.

The 54-year-old shared with THE STAR that the idea to start the organisation came about when he returned to Jamaica in 1997, just five years after he migrated to the US to study architectural drawing and construction at the University of Florida.

"During my early years living in Rock Hall, it was a family-oriented community. I grew there with my mother and father, four sisters and three brothers. I grew up with the kind of discipline that I have to share and when I came back from the States, I started giving back to the community and sports like football and netball competitions," he said. Davis added that sharing was imperative as he knew of residents who had little to nothing. Davis said it was from witnessing the works of his grandfather, Samuel Burke, that he decided to follow in his footsteps.

"My grandfather did a lot for the community. He helped in building the community centre and I wanted to be like him; I wanted to make a difference in Rock Hall," he said.

For that reason, Davis is seeking to engage corporate companies to invest in his community, in efforts at restoring community pride, as well as to create social mobility for residents.

"I do everything from my pocket right now, because I host a football competition every Easter, August and December, and it's a lot to find gear for the teams, shoes, refreshments and to get the pitch ready. It is a hard task but I ensure that I get it done, because it is for the youth. One of my major projects is to develop younger kids, like under 13, in sports but I would need the help to have this project excel," Davis said.

Persons wishing to assist Richard Davis and the International Youth Charity Foundation, may contact him at 876-314-4919 or email intlyouthcharity@gmail.com.