Embedded Files
Jamaica, “Land of Wood and Water”; A land of beauty, yet a land in need.
Jamaica has approximately 54,000 deaf. Though they live in a country saturated with the Gospel, because of deafness the majority of deaf Jamaicans represent an unreached people group that have not yet been reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
CCCD was founded in June of 1958 by the Reverend Willis Ethridge and his wife, Mildred, two Christian missionaries from Ontario, Canada. In February of 1957, the Ethridges had been dispatched to Jamaica by the Ontario Mission for the Deaf, and started the Christian Deaf Fellowship Center in Kingston. In October of 1957 they were joined in the work by Paula Montgomery, an American, who was deaf herself. Paula Montgomery was the first deaf, American missionary.
In June of 1958 the three missionaries were offered a one-year lease of “Bethel,” a property located in Manchester Parish, Jamaica and owned by the Open Bible Standard Churches of Iowa. This marked the official beginning of CCCD. The school opened with eight students and a staff of three.
Kingston
Knockpatrick
Montego Bay
Jamaica Deaf Village
Kingston
Kingston
On July 6, 1994, the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf took possession of the old Christian Deaf Fellowship campus at 4 Cassia Park Road in Kingston. This facility, nestled in the heart of Kingston, gave CCCD an open door to the deaf in the city that is home to half the population of Jamaica. The Kingston Campus of CCCD began on two acres of land, with the needed dormitory, classroom, kitchen and dining room to serve the 15 deaf students during its first year. By 1996 the student body had already increased to 44 students. Today the Kingston campus serves around 38 students.
Knockpatrick Campus
Knockpatrick Campus
In September of 1962 the school moved to its present location in Knockpatrick. By 1967 the enrollment was forty students. Today the Knockpatrick Campus serves over 83 students.
Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Construction on the Montego Bay Campus started in 1990 on 7½ acres of land generously donated to CCCD. On August 29, 1994, the school opened with three children. By January 1995 nineteen students were enrolled. Today the Montego Bay Campus serves approximately 30 students.
Jamaica Deaf Village
Jamaica Deaf Village
In June 1984 God led the CCCD ministry to begin the development of the Jamaica Deaf Village on 100 acres of land to provide, through its church, a place where the deaf can worship God and be nurtured in a godly environment, to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).
At the JDV campus, a church for the deaf was built and a factory so the deaf can support themselves. Apartments and small houses are being built where the deaf can live and raise their families. Thus, began many miracles including the provision of the one hundred acres of land, missionaries, and work teams to do the construction, as well as funds to get the work started.
What an amazing, great, and wonderful God we have the privilege of knowing, the honor of serving, and the confidence of trusting!
Page updated
Report abuse