There was jubilation in the air on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, in Hatfield, Manchester. Representatives of the Sisters of Mercy, Digicel Jamaica and Digicel Jamaica Foundation joined Custos Garfield Green, Board members, educators, staff, students, parents and supporters for the official opening of the St. John Bosco Vocational Training Centre (SJBVTC).
Alpha School of Music Band Master, Winston “Sparrow” Martin; Percussionist (right), Neon Whitter (centre) and Clayon Samuels, Senior Music Instructor (left), entertain guests at the official launch of the St John Bosco Vocational Training Centre in Hatfield, Manchester.
Prime Minister, The Most Hon. Andrew Holness was the keynote speaker, unveiling the official plaque and cutting the ribbon alongside Sister Susan Frazer, Area Administrator at Sisters of Mercy and Executive Director of SJBVTC, Digicel Foundation Chair Jean Lowrie-Chin and two students of the Training Centre. The talented students of the Alpha School of Music provided tuneful interludes.
With funding from Digicel Foundation (its third partnership with Sisters of Mercy) and with support from additional sponsors Paul and Margo Hooker, infrastructural development at the Centre is proceeding in three phases. During the now completed first phase, the original two-story residential building has been modernized and upgraded to house administrative offices, classrooms, and training labs with new outdoor spaces (the Sr. Susan Frazer RSM Educational Complex). Subsequent phases will see the construction of the Sr. Noreen Gray Hospitality Centre for culinary arts instruction, scheduled for January 2023; a Cosmetology Trade Building with service road; and finally, plans are in the works for the redevelopment of the existing football field and adjacent land space into a sports area, and for the renovation of a food preparation lab and other training areas.
Saying he was “simply amazed at the tucked-away secret of St. John Bosco” on his first visit there, Prime Minister Holness declared: “I need more John Boscos” to mould and train Jamaica’s youth. While lauding Sister Frazer’s strong leadership and her love for the students, he pledged his full support for the Centre’s focus on technical and vocational training and teaching critical skills. He said, “We must pay attention to the training…that is aligned to the institutions that are
growing…changing to meet the needs of industry.”
Moved by the testimony of two former students, Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of building character. “The boys and girls I am seeing here are being shaped… They will take away from here that your ambition will change your circumstances. Watch the human being who is going to come out of this process,” he said.
He thanked Digicel Jamaica and the Digicel Foundation for being “such a good corporate partner in our social undertakings.”
Jean Lowrie-Chin, Chair of Digicel Jamaica Foundation, commented that the Foundation has enjoyed “a productive year,” completing projects in every parish on the island. She pointed to the front cover of the Foundation’s newly released Annual Report, showing a student’s face that “reflects the joy of learning, the joy of seeing a future where no one gets left behind, which is our mission.”
A registered independent school, the St. John Bosco Vocational Training Centre was established as St. John Bosco Boys’ Home in 1960 by the Sisters of Mercy, serving juvenile and remand children referred by the Ministry of Justice and the then Child Development Agency of Jamaica. The institution trained thousands of young men to become self-reliant entrepreneurs, skilled labourers, and responsible Jamaican citizens. In 2017 the home transitioned to a Vocational Centre, offering a range of two-year trade programmes to 120 male – and now female – students. The Centre will include the Ministry of Education and Youth’s newly expanded Sixth Form Pathways Programme and is planning to partner with the HEART/NSTA Trust.
Digicel Foundation’s Jean Lowrie-Chin, in recognizing the hard work of the Centre’s Executive
Director said, “Sister Susan Frazer’s plan for this Vocational Training Centre is in perfect alignment with our mission. We emphasise sustainability, and Sister Susan has proven this in the amazing expansion of St. John Bosco under her stewardship.”
Jamaica Highlights 