WEST CHESTER TWP. — Reola Hunt may not look like Santa Claus and a Delta Continental jet is far from a sleigh, but for more than a decade this 84-year-old West Chester Twp. woman has played the role to thousands of children in Jamaica.
For the past 12 Christmases, Hunt has traveled to Jamaica to distribute toys to needy children.
“When we take the toys to the children, they are just so happy,” she said. “One little toy — a truck or a doll — and you’d think they had a bag full of toys.”
Hunt first became aware of the poverty in Jamaica during a vacation several years ago. While exploring a local market, she was shocked at how merchants were practically running over each other to get her attention.
“I thought they were being so rude to each other,” Hunt said. “Then I realized they were desperate.”
Hunt and her daughter, Cheryl Hunt, started the Jamaica Children’s Fund as a way to alleviate some of the poverty. Receiving donations from friends, families and local churches, Hunt annually brings presents to dirt-floor schools and toiletries to hospitals in the country.
“This is a mission outside my church,” Hunt said. “I was call to do this. God chose me to get this started.”
“We’re able to do it because we decided to put our minds to it and go for it,” said Hunt’s other daughter, Charlotte Jones.
Despite her age, Hunt said she doesn’t plan to stop making her annual visit anytime soon. One memory continues to stick with her and drives her to make the collections and visits every year.
“On one of the very early visits, we delivered the presents and one boy refused to open his,” Hunt said. “He told us he wanted to wait until Christmas Day because it was the only present he was going to get. Something like that, it really sticks with you.”
To learn more about Hunt’s mission, visit www.jamaicachildrensfund.com.