A Small Building Beside a Baptist Church Became a $1.2m Internet Lifeline for Rural St Elizabeth

• The Lime Foundation spent $1.2 million on ‘The Link’ centre in Balaclava, St Elizabeth
• The centre is in a small building next to Balaclava Baptist Church and has 10 computers
• The church’s education committee runs it for three nearby schools and the community
• The pastor said about five young members had moved away for work in six months

A small building next to Balaclava Baptist Church in north-east St Elizabeth has become a computer and internet centre, the Jamaica Observer reported in March 2014. The Lime Foundation spent $1.2 million on the facility, which is called The Link. It has 10 computers, high-speed internet and Wi-Fi, and it was the foundation’s tenth centre in an underserved community.

Balaclava is close to the point where St Elizabeth meets Manchester and Trelawny. The centre is meant to serve Balaclava High School, Balaclava Primary School and Balaclava Basic School as well as local residents. Pastor Gareth Irvin said the church’s education committee would manage it. “We have 10 computers right now, so we are hoping to see what the future brings,” he said.

Errol Miller, chairman of the Lime Foundation, explained why the foundation chose the community. “When we can afford to and we find communities off the beaten track then we make sure we go in and help,” he said. Nichol Jackson, principal of Balaclava Primary, said the centre would connect local children with the wider world.

Pastor Irvin also described the pressure on the community. He said about five young people from his church had left within six months, mainly to find work in Montego Bay. Better access to the internet does not guarantee jobs, but it gives young people a way to study and look for work without moving away first.

The project shows that the land and buildings around a church can serve the community, not just the congregation. A modest building beside the church, with a partner paying for equipment and the church supplying management, turned into a public service. Churches with spare rooms or outbuildings should agree in writing with any partner who owns the equipment, who pays the utility bills and what happens to the space if the partnership ends.