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How It All Started
In February 2001 Elder
George Hylton and Sister Sharon Palmer went to the community of
Clifton which is located on the outskirts of Spanish Town on a
special mission – the launch of the “Behold He Cometh” gospel
crusade. By the end of the four week campaign the Word germinated
and 22 souls were baptized, hence the birth of the Clifton Company.
During the formative years, the company was under the leadership of
Pastor Nathan Jackson, and Elder John Black who was from the then
Dela Vega City Seventh-Day Adventist Church (presently Ebenezer
Seventh-Day Adventist Church).
Three months after the
crusade the company erected a ply board structure on a property near
the crusade site. This was donated by the Bernard Lodge Sugar
Estate.
The Clifton Company
matured rapidly in terms of its goals and objectives during its
early days. They were cognizant of their responsibility to the
community and did not hesitate to organize and implement meaningful
service in education and health.
In September 2001
Brother and Sister Alexander, who are members of the company,
organized the Clifton Basic School with four children in enrollment.
“We saw the need for the
basic school because the people from the community are poor. We
noticed that a number of children were just walking around because
their parents could not afford to send them to school outside the
community,” Sister Alexander told Central Focus.
The couple started the
school with personal funds and soon the population grew. Their dream
of reaching out to the needs of children in the community could be
short-lived, however, since there is a threat to close the facility
because of poor infrastructure and the lack of funds to facilitate
changes.
As part of their health
initiative, the Clifton Company has been instrumental in arranging
for Metropolitan Parts and Market (MPM) to collect garbage in the
community. They have organized an immunization programme for
children with the assistance of a registered nurse who volunteered
her time, and they have also assisted with the late registration of
births for persons in their community.
The Clifton Company
falls in the Tent City District of Churches, with a membership that
is growing under the leadership of Pastor Roy Dennis. They were
organized as an official company by Central Jamaica Conference in
April of this year during a special ceremony which was held at the
Clifton Seventh - day Adventist Church.
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