Friends of North Andros

Friends of North Andros, affectionately known as FoNA, partnered with the Presbyterian Church of Johnstown and the greater Johnstown community to send six pallet of relief items (cloting, household goods, and educational materials) to North Andros in November 2016. Recognizing the continued need for support and partnership, FoNA organized a Service Trip to North Andros in June of 2017. more than 30 participants, ranging from age 7 to 77, delivered acts of service through restoration, vacation bible school and a career and life skills seminar. These endeavors were met with great enthusiasm by the people and communities of North Andros. And finally a Summer Student Exchange program was established. This program will bring North Androsians to Ohio for a ten-day experience to hone their personal professional, socia, and academic identities. Experiences will include college visits, workplace tours, protocol and etiquette seminars, and youth exchange activities. 

To ensure the needs and voices of the next generation are at the forefront of FoNA’s endeavors, a Junior Board was formed. The Junior Board Members serve for three years as social ambassadors to the North Androsian Summer Exchange Students. They will also serve as a vital link to FoNA’s social media presence. 

Since the Summer Exchange trip in 2018 and the Impact trip in 2019, the global pandemic slowed efforts to put boots on the ground in North Andros and bring students here to central Ohio. Now that travel restrictions from the Bahamas have been lifted, efforts to reestablish the beautiful island of North Andros are back and more ambitions than ever. With the first Exchange trip set to take place in just a few months, and future impact trips on the horizon, FoNA has initiated another project with the Grand Bahamas Children’s Home to build the kids a brand new soccer field, equipped with goals and bleachers for spectators.