FOUR Jamaican missionaries stranded in Río Abajo, Panama, are seeking the Government's assistance to return to the island, as they struggle to stay afloat in the Spanish-speaking country despite support from the Jamaican consulate in Panama City.

Head of the group, Chief Apostle Winston Farquharson, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues — Ian Davis, Clive Levingston, and Tomika Brown — in a phone interview with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, said the group had initially planned on spending a month in Panama but had applied for a two-week extension to complete work.

Equally, he said that although the group has been given approval on the jamcovid website to return to Jamaica and members have return tickets, Copa Airlines, Panama's flag carrier, has reportedly said that unless the Jamaican Government reaches out and agrees to a relief flight it cannot assist the Jamaicans.

We have applied to the Jamaican Government and they said that it is okay for us to come, but Panama said that they have not gotten any confirmation from the Jamaican Government that they have agreed to a humanitarian flight.

Were it not for Judith Edwards, head of the Jamaica Consulate in Panama, Farquharson said, the group would have been homeless after they ran out of resources and money.