In Kingston, Jamaica, the Tegwyn Special Unit is a community built around care, commitment, and dignity. As part of the National Children's Home, the center provides year-round, life-saving support to people with intellectual disabilities, including those with severe and profound disabilities and high support needs, one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in the country.
Its services include daily meals and nutrition, social protection, early stimulation, motor skill development, physical activity and rehabilitation, and fitness. Many residents need training and support with feeding, dressing, speech, walking, and everyday life skills. A number are also Special Olympics Jamaica athletes, and most of the staff serve as their coaches.
The community does essential work, but when conditions of the Tegwyn Special Unit’s kitchen and facilities fell into disrepair, providing a high level of care became impossible. However,when this critical need presented itself, an exceptional collaboration took place to deliver for the community in Kingston.
Alongside Izett McCalla, from Lions Club of St. Andrew’s, Lorna Bell, Executive Director of Special Olympics Caribbean Initiative, introduced David Evangelista, President and CEO of Special Olympics International, and Dr. Aruna Oswal of Lions Club International Foundation to the leadership team of the Tegwyn Special Unit.
During the meeting, it was made clear that providing daily meals is one of the most urgent partsof the center's care, and with new residents arriving, the kitchen's aging appliances and infrastructure could no longer keep up. The center needed a new kitchen where nutritious meals could be prepared safely for a growing community. The ask was made, and the club was ready.
The Centennial Champions 100 Lions Club set out to raise $10,000 USD to give the center a full, new kitchen in time for Christmas and the 2025 New Year. The goal was a safe, clean, and sustainable space to meet the residents' nutritional needs.
Lions members and friends around the world answered the call to serve: Gonzalo Ramos Solanes and Paula Gundín González from Spain, Annemarie Hill from South Africa, Hugh Bower from Kenya, Mike Hamilton from the USA, and Will Byrne from Ireland. It was truly an international effort.
Most remarkably, Barron Segar, Chief Executive Officer of World Food Program USA, joined with incredible leadership. The effort was about food, nutrition, and health, but what truly defined it was a shared commitment to human dignity.
Together, Lions worldwide and World Food Program USA raised $13,900, surpassing the original goal. The funds refurbished the kitchen and jumpstarted Special Olympics Jamaica's Motor Activity Training Program (MATP) at Tegwyn.
The center opened its doors to every supporting Lions Club. It invited members to Kingston to celebrate the refurbishment, meet the residents, and share in the solidarity and unity of its residents and staff. The visit was a fitting link between Special Olympics and Lions Clubs International, long-standing global partners.
The Tegwyn kitchen renovation shows what becomes possible when people come together to serve others and respond to local needs. It is a reminder of the impact service organizations, humanitarian partners, the Special Olympics movement, and individuals can have when they unite around a common purpose. Sometimes it's a playing field, sometimes it's a uniform, sometimes it's a kitchen.
“I am overwhelmed with gratitude to Lorna Bell for her clairvoyance, Izett McCalla for her leadership and to Barron Segar for his consummate global leadership, and to so many of my Lions and Special Olympics friends who share a common vision: to serve,” said David Evangelista, President and CEO of Special Olympics. “When we put inclusion, service, and dignity at the forefront, we all win. That is what it means to come together in service of others.”
