Under the patronage of the Jamaican Honorary Consul, Mr. Patrick Hanlan, OD, the Hummingbirds Association, an Association of Jamaicans resident in the Bahamas wish to invite all Jamaicans and supporters of Jamaica to the religious service celebrating the 45th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence under the theme “Unity, Peace & Justice” the pillars of a strong nation.

The Independence Service will be held on Sunday, August 5, 2007, at Greater Bethel Cathedral on Faith Way off Baillou Hill Road at 4:00 PM. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is expected to attend. Other activities celebrating the 45th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence include an Emancipation Day Bash scheduled for Monday, August 6, 2007 at Hayne’s Oval, Arawak Cay beginning at 12:00 PM. Western Union will also sponsor a Fun Day featuring a live radio simulcast with ZNS Radio and Radio Jamaica’s Doraine Samuels scheduled for Saturday, August 4, 2007 at Fidelity Cable Beach Car Park beginning at 12:00 PM. On August 6, 1962, Jamaica became an independent nation. At the stroke of Midnight that hot summer night, the Union Jack of Great Britain was lowered, and with much expectation, celebration and relief, the Jamaican people commemorated the rising of their own colours “black, green and gold” with dances, parades and religious ceremonies. This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the legislative abolition of the trans-Atlantic trade in Africans to the former British Caribbean. The abolition of the trade in Africans (not the abolition of slavery or independence)marked the beginning of the creation of a Jamaican identity. The Hummingbirds Association, formed in 1978, is the largest and oldest Jamaican organization in the Bahamas. FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES Contact: PJ Sands Johnson Public Relations The Hummingbirds Association 242-324-3733 email: hummingbirdsJA@hotmail.com