Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published Monday, April 17, 2023
By Jean Lowrie-Chin
Ackeef Nugent meets Andrew Holness.
The words of young Ackeef Nugent rang out in Jamaica, and we hope they will touch the hearts of wrongdoers: “I would like to say a word to all the criminals and warring factions … not only in my community but all around Jamaica. Please, please to put down the gun and allow our young youths to grow in peace so we can make Jamaica to be the place to live, raise families, and do business. We are your next generation — teachers, doctors, lawyers, judges … please put down the gun, I am pleading to you guys!”
This is from a TVJ news report by Shemala Pullen about the 13-year-old’s community outreach in Cockburn Pen. The Excelsior High School student of humble means teaches the little ones and sometimes feeds them out of his lunch money. So moved was Prime Minister Andrew Holness that he invited Ackeef and family members to meet with him at his office and promised to support his project.
I posted an excerpt of the video on Twitter and it has made thousands of impressions. We should ensure that this young man is supported to the highest degree in his own educational pursuits as well as in his mentorship of the little ones. Who knows, one day he may be sitting in the prime minister’s chair, encouraging another good youth like himself.
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