Mustard Seed board members fêted

Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

The Mustard Seed organisation, led by Father Gregory Ramkissoon, has for many years reached across continents to help persons who would otherwise have been forgotten by society. Started in 1978, in Mona Common, St Andrew, Mustard Seed began as a home for abandoned and disabled children and has grown to serve over 500 children and young adults with disabilities, children who are HIV-positive, pregnant teens and their babies.

Mustard Seed has 10 locations in St Andrew, St Catherine, St Ann and St James, and is also located in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe.

In each foreign location, Ramkissoon has been blessed to have great volunteers and equally great board members who work tirelessly to raise funds to keep the work of Mustard Seed alive. On Thursday, January 20, the board members were hosted for dinner at the home of businesswoman Thalia Lyn and her husband, Captain Mike Lyn. They mingled, shared stories and made valuable connections between sips and bites of the delicious fare. Among the members present was Traug Keller, chairman of Mustard Seed United States for three years. He is also the senior vice-president, production business division for ESPN.

Keller's goal

Keller, in an interview with Outlook, said his goal was to fulfil the mandate of Father Ramkissoon, to serve the least of God's children and to support his efforts in all four countries. It is a tall order that sees volunteers raising funds to undertake missions abroad. "Volunteers have to raise the money to pay their way to overseas missions as well as raise money for them," Keller said. The funds take care of needs from as small as providing meals to as large as replacing roofs and erecting new buildings.

Keller first learnt about Mustard Seed through a former board chairman and his college buddy Jack Griffin who invited him on one of his trips to Jamaica 10 years ago. What he has grown to love about Mustard Seed is the fact that "people from all walks of life come to help because of one man's work - Father Ramkissoon.

Fund-raising has steadily increased and that is a testament to the executive director  and her staff," Keller said. He is pleased that through modern technology, the word had gone out to many more people to encourage them to help.

Laura Doherty

For her part, Executive Director Laura Doherty is based outside Boston, Massachusetts, and holds responsibility for overseeing all fund-raising for the volunteers who travel overseas. "Last year, some 479 persons travelled from the United States and spent up to one week at a time in the other countries. They had to raise $1,000 to give to the mission in addition to paying their own return fare."

Doherty told Outlook that when the volunteers return home, they spread the word about the missions and, in turn, get them interested in coming and helping too. "We attract volunteers from all fields: plumbers, contractors, painters, and persons from several disciplines." She said it's not hard to get the work done nor is it hard to convince people to help. "Mustard Seed is a great story and the vision is wonderful, once people see what is being done, it's easy to get their help." She noted an increase of 20 per cent in funds raised in 2010 over 2009. "People are incredibly generous, they trust us because they see that we are working for the children who need us.

Doherty said she was committed to the work for the long haul and to ensuring that Mustard Seed continues to get funding. She said she was looking forward to the strategy sessions in the meetings while in Jamaica and planning ahead for all the missions overseas. What she loves most about Mustard Seed are the stories of the negatives in humanity juxtaposed with people who are willing to care and help. "Many of the donors don't have a lot but willingly give something. There is much good and generosity in the world."