USNS Comfort team assists children in summer program

Members of the USNS team engage children at the public library in Roseau
Members of the USNS team engage children at the public library in Roseau

A team from the United States Navy’s Hospital Ship, USNS Comfort, is currently assisting children in the area of basic general health which forms part of an ongoing summer program organized by the Ministry of Health at the public Library in Roseau.

Children between the ages of 6 and 14 are participating in that activity.

They are also engaged in reading.

Chaplain Jay Kersten
Chaplain Jay Kersten

“Today we are here at the library during their summer program because they have the initiative for doing basic general health. So, we came here to support the program by doing general hygiene, dental hygiene and nutrition,” United States Lieutenant Commander on board the USNS Comfort, Chaplain Jay Kersten, told Dominica News Online (DNO).

He said after the activities the children will get a chance to enjoy music from the USNS Comfort band.

He described his experience on island so far as a fun one.

“It’ has been a fun experience and it’s been a sort of a neighbourly exchange. This is what we were really hoping for,” he stated.

Lieutenant Kersten also indicated that a team from the ship will assist in painting a homeless centre on island in the first week of August.

“The first of the month we are going to have another community relations project where we are going to a homeless shelter and painting it,” he said. “It is going to be newly opened so we are going to paint that for them before they move in.”

The USNS Comfort also plans to pay a visit, on August 2, to CHANCES, an institution for children at risk in Dominica.

“We have a number of things we are going to do with them including playing football and just developing a good relationship,” Kersten said.

The ship, which is being described as the largest floating hospital ship in the US, has been in Dominica since Monday 27th, July.

The USNS Comfort will be on island until the 6th of August.

USNS 2

 

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3 Comments

  1. Moin meme
    August 4, 2015

    good job

  2. vegnag
    August 1, 2015

    Excellent – thanks USNS the kids do need role models and motivational talks in this worp and disillusion world we now live in.

  3. Not a herd follower
    July 31, 2015

    What happened to the new national library project promoted by Skerrit? Skerrit came from Azerbaijan and said he obtained the financial support of the government of that country to build a new library for the country. He was so confident that he invited the public to suggest where it should be located.

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