Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, February 7, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

Dr Lucien Jones, vice-chair and tireless advocate for road safety, must be delighted that the Road Traffic Act is finally being implemented. In an open letter last month he reflected on the 482 road deaths in 2021 and the projected figure of 480 by outgoing head of Mona GeoInfomatics Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr.

Alphea Sumner, Jamaica Observer senior staff reporter, gave the highlights of the new regulations, which came into effect on February 1. Among them: up to $150,000 for defacing, mutilating, obliterating, adding to, reproducing, duplicating certificates of fitness, licence certificates, licence decals, and certificates of title; fines of up to $250,000 for advertising for sale, selling, using, or installing a device which gives inaccurate odometer readings or altering their odometers; $10,000 fine for travelling in a vehicle with part of the body protruding or allowing a passenger to do so; $10,000 fine for driving a motor vehicle which causes a sound exceeding the noise limit; and up to $80,000 in fines for providing the services of a driving instructor without the relevant authority.

All the fines are on conviction and also carry an alternative term of imprisonment.

Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, February 7, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

When we tried to download our digital vaccination certificates, we saw that our second shot was not recorded. On a friend’s recommendation, we went to the Stony Hill Vaccination Centre at the Heart Academy complex, and were greeted by a most helpful team. As we waited for them to input our information, we overheard a health aide counselling an elderly gentleman who had just been vaccinated. You would have thought he was her grandfather from the gentle tone of her voice.

Congratulations to public health nurse Fiona Ellis, data entry clerk Sakeena Ledgister and community health aide Andrea Frankson. With all the complaints about our health facilities, we need to remember the good-hearted people who choose to stay here and give of their best. In a couple of days all was sorted, and we now have our digital cards.

Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, February 07, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

These past two weeks have given us hope that we are moving ahead in Jamaica.

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) through the dedication of previous chair, Professor Maureen Samms Vaughan, and current Chair Trisha Williams-Singh has roused us to the importance of the first 1,000 days in a child’s life, and have been certifying early childhood institutions and training teachers. They have also created the 1st 1000 Days, a free app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

Additionally, under the leadership of Executive Director Karlene Deslandes, the commission has established 115 Brain Builder Centres at early childhood institutions throughout the island, closing in on their target of 126.

ECC Commissioner David Salmon was the ideator for the Year of Early Childhood in Jamaica, resulting in Governor General Sir Patrick Allen’s proclamation on January 25. It reads in part: “I …do hereby proclaim the year two thousand and twenty-two as the Year of Early Childhood Development and encourage all citizens of Jamaica to support the Early Childhood Commission in its efforts as we commit the resources of our country to ensure that Jamaica’s children receive the best education in the world.”

We welcome the tabling of legislation for the Jamaica Teaching Council by Education Minister Fayval Williams. According to Jamaica Information Service ( JIS) reporter Latonya Linton, the legislation “seeks to establish a governing body for the teaching profession and a licensing and registration regime for all government-paid teachers”.

Standards must be established for those in whom we entrust so much. However, let us not forget the heroines and heroes in our teaching profession. Recently TVJ‘s Ray of Hope featured principal of Central Branch All-Age Michael Sutherland, who conducts classes for parents and teaches them catering skills. My post on social media brought dozens of positive comments from his past students at Westwood and Queen’s.

By Michael Edwards

iCreate Institute, the digital skills training institute which previously launched a multimillion-dollar Digital Awareness training programme to improve digital proficiency for thousands, is looking to the secondary as well as tertiary sectors and also aspiring entrepreneurs.

The company, through its iCreate Institute, has trained and certified over 4,500 individuals to date throughout the Caribbean region and has to date developed over 20 different digital, tech and creative courses, a number which head of digital training Dominic Summers, expects to increase exponentially. “Owing to our partnerships with these world- renowned training institutions we will, in short order, be offering over 1000 courses.”

Head of iCreate Institute, Dominic Summers, said the company was committed to equipping  students with the digital mindset and tools needed to develop and succeed in today’s digital economy. A principal element of this thrust is the development of several partnerships with recognized entities in the field of digital education and training. This includes EdX, an online joint venture between US universities Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), each of global renown. The EdX venture uses open source software platforms that allow for university-level courses in a wide range of disciplines to be offered online.”

The company has also partnered with Code Fellows, a northwestern U.S.-based training institute that operates code-building camps and other software instruction worldwide, the Digital Marketing Institute, billed as the world’s largest digital marketing community, and the Kingston-based University of the Commonwealth Caribbean (UCC), which offers training to thousands of Jamaicans online as well as through its seven physical campuses.

Retirement coach and Board Director of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons(CCRP), Patricia Reid-Waugh completed the digital awareness course offered by iCreate. “I found the course to be a comprehensive exploration of the business and social applications of the Internet today.”  Reid-Waugh, whose published titles include “Retirement: A New Adventure” says she hopes that future course offerings will feature more local presenters.

“The economy we are living in today requires digital awareness in every field. We can no longer operate without basic digital skills,” Mr. Summers said. “In order to grow and be successful it is imperative that we harness these skills and use them to our advantage.” This imperative, he adds, has been heightened by the persistence of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to digital training, iCreate is building out its Opportunity Ventures division, which is focused on building ventures that are aligned with its digital training and preparation vision. These include the Creative City multi-disciplinary complex as well as media production and advertising enterprises

In the press – Written by Racquel Simpson

For over a decade, the Bluefields Villas Foundation (BVF) has been providing significant assistance to citizens of Bluefields Bay and adjoining communities in Westmoreland through social outreach projects.

The Bluefields Villas Foundation was established in 2009 to further effect and regularize charitable endeavors which were long undertaken by the proprietors of the luxury Bluefields Bay Villas, the Moncure family, who entered Jamaica’s tourism and leisure sector in 1982.

Environmental Protectors

A significant component of BVF’s mandate is environmental advocacy.  This includes the protection of both the physical surroundings as well as the Bay’s aquatic life.

As needed, the Foundation donates funds to the Bluefields Fisherman’s Friendly Society to offset the cost for oil, food and other essentials for members of the patrol team whose vigilance helps to prevent fishing in restricted areas of the Bay since it became an aquatic wildlife sanctuary in 2011. In previous years, the BVF team also played an active role in the Sea Turtle Protection Programme through cash donations to implement measures aimed at eliminating poaching of the endangered species.

The team has also been an influential force in advocating for proper solid waste management in Bluefields and surrounding communities.  The Foundation makes a generous monthly donation to the Bluefields Peoples Community Association which covers the cost of the community’s anti-litter programme. The initiative encourages proper garbage disposal amongst citizens and provides a fortnightly income for some individuals who clean the 3-mile stretch of the highway from Mearnsville to Belmont Academy.Trash cans and skips have also been put in place along the roadways by BVF.  The team has also been instrumental in organizing a coastline cleanup activity in previous years.

Healthcare Supporters

The BVF has established an ongoing and supportive relationship with healthcare workers in the parish. Last year, the charitable group provided over 300 lunches to nurses involved in over 20 COVID-19 vaccination drives in Savanna-la-mar, Bluefields and Whitehouse. The team also donated a computer to the Bluefields Health Center in 2021 to improve administrative services at the facility.

Education and Community Champions

Members of the BVF team have also championed the cause of educational and community development through impactful welfare and education outreach initiatives. 

Needy elderly citizens in Bluefields and nearby communities are able to access a stipend through the Foundation’s welfare programme to boost their NIS payouts. During the recent festive season, the team also distributed over 300 care packages to the elderly and needy individuals. 

Prior to the distribution of care packages, BVF donated 30 tablets to students at Belmont Academy who were without devices to access online classes. New furniture and modern flush toilets were also provided to Mearnsville All-Age School with funding by the Foundation. The breakfast and lunch programmes at Belmont Academy and Mearnsville All-Age School are also subsidized by the BVF.

Mr. Houston Moncure, Vice-Chair of the Bluefields Villas Foundation, stated, “Our team at the Bluefields Villas Foundation is serious about community and educational development as well environmental preservation.  People and planet are at the heart of what we do so we try to streamline our projects towards improving the quality of the physical surroundings and the life of the citizens.” 

He added, “The team is pleased to see that several individuals have been positively impacted by our charitable work over the past decade and we are optimistic about impacting more lives in the near future.” Between 2020 and 2021 the BVF has expended about J$11.4 million in outreach projects in Westmoreland.

By Michael Edwards

It was a case of “faith becoming real” for 21-year-old medical student Keonie White as she became the latest recipient of a full tuition scholarship courtesy of Food for the Poor and their donors.

At the official presentation ceremony, held in the Medical Sciences Faculty building at the UWI, Mona campus, White, who hails from the remote mountain district of Auchtembeddie in Manchester (near to the St. Elizabeth border), gave an emotional testimony of the timely intervention of the Food for the Poor team, working in tandem with the Medical Faculty, and the overseas based donors. “This [scholarship] opportunity was a beacon of hope in what was otherwise a time of darkness,” she told the gathering. “I spent much time praying and crying, wondering if all the work and study I had put in up to that point would be in vain.”

The offer of funding – full tuition and board for three years, gave the then first year student renewed confidence of realizing her desire to become a pediatrician. That desire, she explained, blossomed out of a story oft repeated by her family, of how she had survived a life-threatening bout of pneumonia only days after birth. Now in her second year, White said she was already dreaming of the day she will be able to “pay it forward” by offering free or low cost clinical services in her deep rural community, and encourages others to stick to their dreams no matter what.

Addressing the presentation, Food for the Poor Executive Director Craig Moss Solomon, said the organization was proud to stand in support of Miss White, and described her story as one of “passion, hope and resilience.” Food for the Poor, he said, was committed to helping talented and needy students realize their full potential, and contribute to national development. Moss-Solomon also paid a brief tribute to his late uncle James “Jimmy” Moss-Solomon, who was a major contributor to the development of the university.

Donors Jim McDaniel and Alison Frahm of Davis Elkins Foundation, through Operation Starfish, Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, Virginia, expressed a similar eagerness to contribute to the initiative. “This is something that we just felt a call to do, and it has been a source of great fulfilment for us,” McDaniel said. “Not only have we helped a medical student in Jamaica, but we have gained new insights and opportunities to develop new relationships, such as we have with our friends at the University of the West Indies.”

UWI Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal of the Mona Campus Prof. Dale Webber said the institution received over 1,000 applications annually for the Medical Faculty, but has only 280 places in the various programmes. “A significant number of those accepted”, he pointed out, are unable to take up the place because they cannot afford the tuition. Still there are those who start on faith, and today faith has become reality for Keonie White, thanks to Food for the Poor, and we will see the return on investment when Miss White is out there practicing.”

UWI Medical Faculty Dean Prof. Minerva Thame said the presentation of the scholarship was “a dream come true” for Miss White and an occasion of pride and celebration for the Faculty and the university as a whole. “This is a life-changing moment for Keonie and for all of us,” she said and implored the young student to cherish the donation as the time would come when she would, in turn, be giving back to help someone else less fortunate.

Over fifty (50) students from across the various faculties of the University of the West Indies have benefited from tuition and/or textbook grants from Food for the Poor since 2016. The medical scholarship was created in 2017 when donors, the Davis Elkins Foundation, through Operation Starfish, Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, Virginia, decided to assist a medical student with tuition and boarding for three years. Since then, the donors, have continued to provide support for one medical student each year. In addition to supporting university students, Food for the Poor provides textbook and school supplies grants to students at the primary and secondary levels, has built and refurbished schools across the island, and has also provided valuable facilities such as rainwater harvesting systems(water tanks and pipes) and hand washing stations to help schools cope with the varied demands of operating during the pandemic.

Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, January 24, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

Despite these trying times I heard some good news from two tourism-related companies last week: Bluefields Villas and VIP Attractions, operators of Club Kingston and Club MoBay at our two international airports.

The Moncure family, owners of Bluefields Villas, Jamaica’s only all-inclusive villa complex, through its foundation, has been supporting the Bluefield’s Fisherme’s Friendly Society, the Mearnsville All-Age School, and the Belmont Academy. They built sanitary facilities and donated classroom furniture at the Mearnsville school, subsidise the lunch and breakfast programmes for both schools, and have supplied tablets for students at Belmont Academy.

They also assist the dynamic Bluefields People’s Community Association in their anti-litter programme, providing trash cans and skips and organising beach clean-up days.

Additionally, the vice-chair of the Bluefields Foundation Houston Moncure and his wife Kate led their staff members throughout several communities in the area, distributing care packages to the elderly over the holiday season, an annual exercise.

Meanwhile, VIP Attractions, operators of the airport lounges Club Kingston and Club MoBay, are increasing their offerings for departing passengers at the Sangster International Airport. The 4,000-square-foot “island vibe” expansion will be launched in September and will host another 100 departing visitors.

CEO of VIP Attractions Shelly-Ann Fung King described it as “a significant investment in Jamaica’s economy not only in cash terms, jobs created, and enhancing our tourism product, but also by boosting the nation’s image and marketability as a great place to do business”

Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, January 24, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

You can imagine my joy when Dr Opal Palmer Adisa invited me to share a poem in her great publication, 100+ Voices for Miss Lou. The planning began a few years before the centenary in 2019 of the legendary Louise Bennett-Coverley, and finally, the first batch of books has arrived at the University Press.

When I showed my daughter my poem, she quipped that her dad is also in the book as the one they chose to publish was My Chinaman Jumped to the Riddim of Jah. It is humbling to be counted among so many distinguished poets and authors.

This book is a treasure trove of everything Miss Lou. Please read with the younger generation so they can appreciate the richness and joy of the legacy of Louise Bennett-Coverley.

Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published Monday, January 24, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

Jamaican women stood tall as we watched the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Change of Command Parade at which Rear Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman was handed the baton by outgoing JDF leader Lieutenant General Rocky Meade to become the first woman chief of defence staff.

We thank Lt General Meade for his brilliant leadership of the JDF over the past five years and his 28 years of service in the force. The holder of a PhD in linguistics and a part-time lecturer at The University of the West Indies, Lt General Meade should have great new opportunities in academia.

In her address, the rear admiral stated that she remains committed to changing this culture of violence. “I joined to serve, and my service continues,” she stated.

Indeed, that service marks nearly three decades of firsts for the career officer, who was trained at the Britannia Royal Naval College, HMS Collingwood, and the US Navy War College. She was the first seagoing woman officer to serve in the JDF, commanding various patrol vessels, the JDF Coast Guard, the Caribbean Military Maritime Training Centre, and the Maritime, Air and Cyber Command.

Among the barriers the rear admiral has broken are the attainment of the rank of commander and assuming command of a unit in the JDF in 2014. She now steps up from the position of force executive officer to the pinnacle of her ‘tour of duty’. The much-decorated Wemyss Gorman has gained respect regionally and internationally and has been a distinguished participant in forums worldwide.

What a momentous week it has been for Clarendon: topping the charts for high school achievement, winning football trophies, and now proud that Jamaica’s chief of defence staff hails from Top Alston district.

Rear Admiral Wemyss-Gorman is married to Jonathan, and they have a 15-year-old son. We wish her many blessings in her historic achievement.

Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published on Monday, January 24, 2022

By Jean Lowrie-Chin

As I listened to the list of areas which were declared zones of special operations (ZOSO) in Westmoreland at last week’s press briefing, my mind went back to my childhood days in Savanna-la-Mar. Dalling Street was a place where zinnia gardens flourished in front of quaint country cottages. Great George Street was the lovely road on which we walked from our mother’s house and shop at 2 Rose Street down to the fort by the seaside where we would watch magnificent sunsets. My mom would lend tables and chairs to both political parties when they had meetings at the fountain.

We attended St Mary’s Academy, run by the Sisters of Mercy, with its walkway of swaying palms and the St Joseph’s Catholic Church at Hendon Circle. We were fixtures in the Savanna-la-Mar library and we knew we should say good morning or good afternoon to everyone we met, and this was always returned with a smile.

Fast-forward to 2014 when there was news of the shooting of a couple on Dalling Street, who were survived by several children, and Food For the Poor Jamaica decided to build a house for them. When I arrived as part of the handover team I could hardly believe my eyes. The location of the house was in a tenement yard, and all the lovely cottages along the street were gone.

The following year, with the sad eyes of the bereaved children still on my mind, I prepared an Easter package for them and went to Dalling Street to deliver it. At the entrance a man on a bicycle growled, “Whey yu want?” I told him that I had brought a bag for the children. “Gi mi, mi will gi dem,” he said menacingly. I must confess that I became very afraid of being attacked so I gave him the bag and quickly got back into the car.

This is just one of many areas in Jamaica, land we love, where you must seek permission from a thug to enter a yard, a street, or a community. They have decent citizens under their thumbs who must “see and blind” to stay alive.

As usual, the police are being blamed for the upsurge of crime because this takes the heat off those who are bringing in expensive weapons to arm our unattached youth, and those who could do more to heal their communities but hide behind profiling and puffery.

So here is what every Jamaican can do. We can mentor a child; make a weekly call to just listen and point them in the right direction.

Richard Lawrence, who created the Adopt A Youth Foundation, held a webinar last week to assist young people in finding and applying for scholarships. He is active in the Apostolic Worship Centre.

Racquel Simpson, a public relations executive, mentors primary school children and holds extra classes for them.

Through our churches, we can start these groups, using those spaces that are locked all week to create oases of peace and productivity. The Government and the security forces alone cannot do it; we must also do our part to save our beloved Jamaica.