Forty poverty-stricken families will have the comfort of new two-bedroom houses from Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica later this year, thanks to donations committed thus far by individuals, companies and others during the charity organisation’s third annual 5K Run/Walk held on May 13 at Emancipation Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

 At the Run/Walk event, Andrew Mahfood, Chairman of FFP Jamaica announced that the charity intends on constructing 100 houses from the event and they are grateful for the 40 houses already committed.

“When you hear us say that we want to build 100 homes, that’s just a drop in the bucket. We need to build 10,000 houses, because there are tens of thousands of Jamaicans who we have seen and are now on our waiting list who are desperately in need of houses,” Mahfood passionately said.

Mahfood strongly believes the goal of constructing 100 houses from the event will be achieved as persons and organisations are still committing to the 5K.

Approximately, $46.5 million was raised from the first 5K Run/Walk in 2015 and $53 million in 2016 with over 100 houses built.

Mahfood said, “Food For The Poor Jamaica is extremely grateful for the support received. No charity can survive without the support system of their nation. We are happy that individuals, the private and public sectors, groups from all 14 parishes across, members of our diaspora and people living outside of Jamaica, decided to support us through contributions, pledges and donations through the internet.”

Marsha Burrell-Rose, Marketing Manager, FFP Jamaica, announced that: National Bakery, Jamaica Public Service, National Commercial Bank, ReMax, Black Ink Marketing & Events Solution Limited, First Caribbean Bank, Red Stripe, Running Events, Rototech, Supreme Ventures, Zoukie, Hi Pro and Cornwell Bankers, have committed houses from corporate Jamaica. Other donors include: Yohan Blake, and Michael Hylton.

All funds committed by these persons and organisations were matched equally by Food For The Poor Florida.

In 2015, approximately 842 houses were constructed by FFP Jamaica since its inception. While other houses were constructed by other Food For The Poor organisations in Latin America and Caribbean countries including Trinidad & Tobago, Honduras, St Vincent, Guyana, Haiti, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organisations, started in Jamaica in 1938 with the objective of distributing food items through churches, but have now expanded to address housing, education, health care, prison ministry, agriculture and social outreach.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170515/40-homes-be-built-food-poor

“IT is not easy being a single parent, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Those were the words of Catherine Knight, office assistant at Jamaica National (JN) Foundation, when she openly spoke of how proud she was of her four children at the Digicel Foundation Mothers’ Day Brunch on Friday.

Knight was among five super moms in their own right, who were feted by the foundation for their dedication, hard work, commitment and never giving up as mothers.

The other mothers — Rosemarie Golden, security guard at Digicel; Rosemarie Fogo, clerk at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation; Joy Golding, office assistant at The Early Childhood Commission and Bernice Stewart Johnson, office assistant at GraceKennedy — stories are no different.

For each of them it took strength and courage, sometimes sacrifices, to ensure that their children received a solid education and made life better for themselves.

“It was a little difficult. I would have to get up at 5:00 am, get them ready for school, then get myself ready for work,” said Golding, mother of five girls. “Luckily, my boss was not so hard so I could ask for help. One of my girls is now an auditor, one is a teacher, one works with one of the Government ministries. They are all doing well.”

“My son is into farming. I had wanted him to be a lawyer or doctor, but a teacher said to me all the students can’t be that, so if your children are interested in farming don’t discourage them. Someone has to feed the doctors and lawyers. My daughter is now a teacher, and I remember when she was sent to Papine High people criticised her and she said she was going there to make a difference. She left with seven subjects, went to Mico then to UTech (University of Technology), and I am really proud of them,” Stewart Johnson said.

“My son now works in banking and he always said mommy is a single parent and she did what she had to so I have to step up now, and he has stepped up,” Fogo said.

Golden, on the other hand, shared that she has raised excellent children and is now mothering one of her four grandchildren, after her son’s girlfriend died 13 days subsequent to giving birth, due to an allergic reaction to medication.

Moreover, Saffrey Brown, general manager of the JN Foundation, commended the mothers and made special mention of Knight, who she said she met when she was 22 years old, and has admired her parenting skills since then.

“She was really involved in their lives. There was a centre in the community of Southside where she’s from and when they came home she ensured they went there and got all the help they could. It’s really about looking around for opportunities for your children,” Brown said.

Caroline Mahfood, executive director of the GraceKennedy Foundation, commended the mothers for their strength and resilience.

Meanwhile, Jean Lowrie -Chin, chairman of the Digicel Foundation, lauded the mothers for having the willpower to do their jobs and still raise their children, even when the circumstances seemed tough.

“All of us are inspired. You are nation builders. You were willing to sacrifice and go the extra mile so that your children could make it. We salute you and may God continue to bless you,” she said.

Along with the brunch, the mothers were serenaded by Elton Earlington, 2016 Digicel Rising Stars winner, and were catered to by Cafe Nita and served coffee by Deaf Can!, a social enterprise created to employ and empower deaf youth to believe in their God-given abilities.

The mothers left with packages from the sponsors which include GraceKennedy, JN Foundation, Digicel Foundation and the Early Childhood Commission.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/stalwart-women-lauded-at-stalwart-women-lauded-at_98711?profile=1373

“IT is not easy being a single parent, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Those were the words of Catherine Knight, office assistant at Jamaica National (JN) Foundation, when she openly spoke of how proud she was of her four children at the Digicel Foundation Mothers’ Day Brunch on Friday.

Knight was among five super moms in their own right, who were feted by the foundation for their dedication, hard work, commitment and never giving up as mothers.

The other mothers — Rosemarie Golden, security guard at Digicel; Rosemarie Fogo, clerk at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation; Joy Golding, office assistant at The Early Childhood Commission and Bernice Stewart Johnson, office assistant at GraceKennedy — stories are no different.

For each of them it took strength and courage, sometimes sacrifices, to ensure that their children received a solid education and made life better for themselves.

“It was a little difficult. I would have to get up at 5:00 am, get them ready for school, then get myself ready for work,” said Golding, mother of five girls. “Luckily, my boss was not so hard so I could ask for help. One of my girls is now an auditor, one is a teacher, one works with one of the Government ministries. They are all doing well.”

“My son is into farming. I had wanted him to be a lawyer or doctor, but a teacher said to me all the students can’t be that, so if your children are interested in farming don’t discourage them. Someone has to feed the doctors and lawyers. My daughter is now a teacher, and I remember when she was sent to Papine High people criticised her and she said she was going there to make a difference. She left with seven subjects, went to Mico then to UTech (University of Technology), and I am really proud of them,” Stewart Johnson said.

“My son now works in banking and he always said mommy is a single parent and she did what she had to so I have to step up now, and he has stepped up,” Fogo said.

Golden, on the other hand, shared that she has raised excellent children and is now mothering one of her four grandchildren, after her son’s girlfriend died 13 days subsequent to giving birth, due to an allergic reaction to medication.

Moreover, Saffrey Brown, general manager of the JN Foundation, commended the mothers and made special mention of Knight, who she said she met when she was 22 years old, and has admired her parenting skills since then.

“She was really involved in their lives. There was a centre in the community of Southside where she’s from and when they came home she ensured they went there and got all the help they could. It’s really about looking around for opportunities for your children,” Brown said.

Caroline Mahfood, executive director of the GraceKennedy Foundation, commended the mothers for their strength and resilience.

Meanwhile, Jean Lowrie -Chin, chairman of the Digicel Foundation, lauded the mothers for having the willpower to do their jobs and still raise their children, even when the circumstances seemed tough.

“All of us are inspired. You are nation builders. You were willing to sacrifice and go the extra mile so that your children could make it. We salute you and may God continue to bless you,” she said.

Along with the brunch, the mothers were serenaded by Elton Earlington, 2016 Digicel Rising Stars winner, and were catered to by Cafe Nita and served coffee by Deaf Can!, a social enterprise created to employ and empower deaf youth to believe in their God-given abilities.

The mothers left with packages from the sponsors which include GraceKennedy, JN Foundation, Digicel Foundation and the Early Childhood Commission.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/stalwart-women-lauded-at-stalwart-women-lauded-at_98711?profile=1373

Nico Yeyo missed a grand chance of defeating Team Canada’s Dave Leblond and launching his professional debut with a win on the Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender boxing series ‘Best of the Best’ boxing card, at the Chinese Benevolent Association Auditorium in Kingston on Wednesday night.Instead, the Team Jamaica representative outwrestled his Team Canada opponent with persistent embraces over five rounds that saw two points deducted from him and one from Leblond.

Yeyo ended by losing the wrestling battle by a split decision after judges Lindel Allen scored the bout 47-45, Clifford Brown 46-46, and Jeremy Hayes 48-44.

Truth be told, the sixth fight of the Contender Series was a fiasco.

The disappointing clash encountered loud cat calls, with boos reverberating from the four corners of the auditorium from the large and disappointed crowd that turned out to see Leblond re-establish himself in the competition against fellow debutant, Yeyo.

Yeyo’s loss to Leblond enables Team Canada to now sit level on three wins with Team Jamaica after the completion of six of the eight fights at the first stage. The four-stage 16-fighters championship offers prize money of $3 million and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Junior Middleweight Contender.

Leblond, in his post-match response through an interpreter said: “Honestly, I was truly disappointed with the performance as I really wanted to give a good show. I was, however, unable to do so. We did not know what to expect from this fighter as we knew little about him and his style, which was a worrying factor.”

Yeyo said his main focus was to survive the rounds.

“My main focus was to ensure that I go the five rounds (as) the amateur rust is still in me. I did not settle, I was impatient, but it was a good fight for me. With this first fight out of the way, I will still continue to train while working on brushing up on my style,” he said.

The saving grace of the evening’s boxing entertainment was two amateur fights featuring two Canadian boxers against their Jamaica counterparts. Both fights brought the house to its feet due to the continuous furious action, with telling blows from the fists of the shorter Damon Williams of the JDF and the gangling Joshua Frazer from Canada.

Frazer, with the longer reach, took the first match, while Jonathan Hanson, competing in the middleweight division, reversed the decision against Canadian Jake Daoust with another three-round humdinger of a clash that opened the programme.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/leblond-wins-ugly-brawl-with-yeyo_98722?profile=0

PRIME Minister Andrew Holness said that the upcoming revised Road Traffic Act will take into consideration more safety features and that the Government will be looking at the implementation of technology in managing traffic, such as a camera system for tracking the speed of moving vehicles, among other important elements.

Holness was speaking at a special function held to mark the fourth United Nations Global Road Safety Week (May 8 – May 14) held at Jamaica House on Wednesday.

The event — which had in attendance various local and international road safety and traffic representatives such as Jean Todt, UN special envoy for road safety; and Zoleka Mandela, granddaughter of former South African leader Nelson Mandela — was staged to help shed light on the ongoing global #SlowDown campaign.

The campaign seeks to increase understanding of the dangers of speed and generate action on measures to address speed, thereby saving lives on the roads. It also calls for urgent action around speed management to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2020 — the target established in the Global Goals for Sustainable Development for the next 15 years (2030).

The prime minister, before starting his address, brought attention to the presence of second-form The Queen’s High School student Nneka Thomas who, due to a road accident in 2014, had her right leg amputated.

“Today is a call for action for countries to speed up the process of saving lives by slowing down on our roads. By the involvement of certain key people here with us today, it is a clear signal that we are serious about taking the fastest route to action on this issue,” Holness said in his address.

He said that, undoubtedly, road safety is a priority for Jamaica and indicated that in his recent budget presentation he focused on a very important role of Government, which is to preserve life and to ensure every citizen can enjoy the inalienable right to life.

The PM said road fatalities could be counted as being among the 10 causes of death, but highlighted that Jamaica is seeing some reduction where this is concerned.

“We want to make it (reduction) sustainable, we want to make it a systematic reduction, therefore we have examined the problem in two ways — there are things that Government can do and there are things that people can do,” the prime minister told attendees.

“We’re on an exercise to improve our roads; we are building more highways with better road services. It means that motorists can use the roads much faster than they could before and also means that the Government has to, from the outset, design our roads with safety in mind,” he continued.

In addition to the implementation of a camera system, the PM pointed out that geographical information system data has enabled them to know where crash hotspots are as well as areas with the greatest probability for accidents to happen, and so they can know where to enforce safety measures to reduce the number of crashes.

He said at least half the crashes have pedestrians or motorcyclists involved, and stated the numbers have shown to date that 313 motorcycles have been seized.

“I want to reiterate the appeal made earlier that motorcyclists and pedestrians should make themselves very visible, and we are contemplating within the new Road Traffic Act some measures to ensure that motorcyclists are identified, which would mean that their helmets should have identifying marks which could include the licence plate of the motorcycle itself and the vest could have the licence plate on it as well,” Holness said.

He said, however, that while the new Road Traffic Act will take into consideration far more safety features than the previous one, even with all the enforcement they do, the variable over which the Government doesn’t have absolute control is that of people and their behaviour.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/auto/pm-holness-says-slow-down_98489?profile=1052

JEAN Todt, the UN special envoy for road safety, says if countries are to succeed in reducing traffic deaths and injuries, they have to tackle the issue of excessive and inappropriate speeding, which he said is the biggest factor in the cause and severity of collisions.“We know that just a five per cent reduction in average speed can reduce the risk of fatal crashes by 30 per cent. Speed kills. If we slow down we save lives. This is the message that we have to repeat again and again,” the UN special envoy told Wednesday’s function to mark the fourth United Nations Global Road Safety Week at Jamaica House in Kingston.

It was hosted by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) in partnership with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Foundation. The event, staged to highlight the ongoing UN #SlowDown campaign, seeks to increase understanding of the dangers of speed and generate actions on measures to address speed.

Todt, who was accompanied by granddaughter of former South African leader Nelson Mandela, Zoleka Mandela, who serves as the ambassador for the Global Initiative for Child Health & Mobility, touted ‘slowing down’ as the vaccine needed to combat road deaths.

He added that the message to obey the speed limit by Olympian Yohan Blake, who is an ambassador for the FIA High Level Panel for Road Safety and ‘3500 Lives’ campaign, has already been launched in more than 30 countries and 600 cities around the world.

The campaign message, he said, will be seen more than one billion times in this phase of the roll-out, and by the end of 2017 they would have reached 70 countries with vital messages on drunk driving, wearing motorcycle helmets and seat belts and not using mobile phones while operating a vehicle.

“Underlying the [UN] 3,500 lives campaign is a crucial political message. It is a message that in my role as the secretary general’s special envoy for road safety, I have been talking to presidents and prime ministers, and transport and health ministers across the world,” Todt said.

“We know how to fix the problem, we have the solutions. We have the mandate in the sustainable development goals, so we need the political commitment and the leadership to make it happen”.

Mandela, in her presentation, also stressed the need for more action to be taken against speeding, adding that actions should be taken urgently for the protection of children and young people.

“Each day 3,000 children are killed or injured all around the world on our roads. This number is scary, it’s deeply shocking and I think we are all in agreement that it is completely unacceptable. The scale of this crisis is bad enough, but what I find even more shocking is how little is being done to prevent it,” she said.

She added that there are solutions but, too often, they are not being put in place. She said that measures needed to save lives are simple, such as ensuring safe crossings for children going to schools or sidewalks to separate pedestrians.

Mandela gave a recent example from her country where almost 20 schoolchildren were killed when the bus in which they were travelling collided with a construction truck and both vehicles burst into flames with the children trapped inside the bus.

“As a mother whose daughter was tragically killed by a speeding drunk driver, there are no words to describe the unexplainable and excruciating pain of having to bury your child or having to have a closed casket as a result of the injuries sustained not only to their face, but to their body,” a visibly emotional Mandela stated.

“The loss of a child is a wound that never heals and we are left constantly wondering how much more you or any parent can endure, that pain you have to live with for all your life,” she added.

The road safety advocate said the situation is not unique to her or her country, but is repeated around the world as millions of children face the same horror every day.

She called for renewed action, especially from the political directorate, to make roads safer in Jamaica and around the world, as she quoted from her her grandfather: “We must not despair. We must not accept defeat. We must not forget that it is in our power to change the world.”

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/j-8217-cans-urged-to-slow-down-save-a-life_98488?profile=1373

“It was not pretty, but we won and will move on to the next round,” said a happy trainer, Patrice Trudeau, on Wednesday night at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium, after his boxer, Canada’s Dave Leblond, won by a majority decision over Jamaica’s Nico Yeyo to earn a place in the second round of the Wray and Nephew 2017 junior middleweight competition.

In a contest that saw a lot of holding by both boxers, and for which they were both penalised by referee Owen Nelson, Leblond had the edge and was ahead on two of the judge’s scorecards at the end. Judge Lindell Allen from Jamaica

47-45, and Canadian judge Jeremy Hayes, 48-44, voted for Leblond, while Jamaican judge Clifford Brown scored the fight a draw at 46-46.

On April 19, Leblond was defeated by Jamaican Tsetsi Davis in the third week of competition in a very close fight. Leblond appealed the decision, but it was thrown out by the Jamaica Boxing Board. His Canadian colleague, Ryan Wagner, who should have fought Yeyo last Wednesday, did not pass his medical examination, however, and looking for a substitute for him, the promoters gave Leblond the nod.

Leblond grasped the opportunity and dug deep to fight off Yeyo, who was making his professional debut and came away with the victory.

UNPREDICTABILITY

Yeyo’s unpredictability came to the fore on Wednesday. He is a mercurial fighter who either fights brilliantly or wildly, and he gave examples of both on Wednesday.

The contest deteriorated after the opening round as there was very little positive action and the restless crowd booed at times to show their frustration.

There was a lot of holding by both men in the final round and Leblond had one point deducted, and Yeyo, two, for this offence.

Yeyo said afterwards that in the heat of the moment, he had “deviated from the instructions given” by his corner, and his trainer, Earl Foskin, was certain that “if he had followed instructions, he would have won the fight”.

Their plans fell apart, however, and Yeyo lost his first professional fight, while Leblond gets another opportunity to vie for the title and the top prize of $2 million or the runner-up prize of $500,000, third prize of $250,000, or fourth $200,000.

In amateur action, it was also Jamaica versus Canada. In the first bout, Canadian Joshua Frazer defeated Damion Williams from the Jamaica Defence Force on points, while in the second bout, Jamaica’s Janathan Hanson had a split-decision victory over Canadian Jake Daoust.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170512/unimpressive-victory-leblond

With 115 persons killed on the nation’s roadways since the start of the year, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has made a commitment for Jamaica to slash in half the number of fatal crashes by the year 2020.

“The Government of Jamaica is making this commitment, not a promise, but a commitment, to reduce our road fatalities by 50 per cent,” Holness said earlier this week at the launch of the fourth United Nations Global Safety Week campaign, which runs from May 8-14.

Holness, who is also chairman of the National Road Safety Council (NRSC), noted that he would be taking special interest in the new Traffic act, which is being hammered out by Transport Minister Mike Henry and his team.

“We should have this new act very soon, and I will be pressing Minister Henry to get this to Parliament for its passing as quickly as possible,” said the prime minister.

The 50 per cent reduction target was established under the World Decade of Action for Road Safety, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2011.

STAGGERING NUMBER

Echoing this year’s theme, Save Lives #SlowDown, Holness said that it was the Government’s obligation to see to the safety of all Jamaicans.

He said that statistics provided by the island’s traffic department show that approximately 184,566 tickets have been issued by the police up to May 5, an increase of 24 per cent over the same period last year.

Three hundred and seventy-nine persons were killed in fatal crashes on Jamaica’s roads in 2016, a decrease over the previous year in which 382 persons perished.

Zoleka Mandela, ambassador of the Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility and granddaughter of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, made an impassioned plea to reduce speeding worldwide to ease the carnage.

“Worldwide, more young people are killed on the roads than from any other cause of death. Each day, 3,000 children are killed or injured on the world’s roads. This is a staggering number and it is totally unacceptable,” Mandela stated.

The United Nation Special Envoy for Road Safety Week, Jean Todt, urged the use of speed management, which he said is a “vaccine” that can prevent injury to all, including children.

paul.clarke@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20170512/save-lives-slowdown-pm-commits-cutting-road-fatalities-half-2020

Dave Leblond, the Canadian boxer who lost by split decision to Jamaica’s Tsetsi Davis, returns to the Wray & Nephew 2017 junior middleweight series tonight, to fight Jamaica’s Nico Yeyo, because of a twist of fate.

Yeyo was scheduled to meet another Canadian, Ryan Wagner, but Wagner is reported to have failed a medical examination last week and is not eligible to fight tonight. The bout, which will be over five rounds is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Television Jamaica.

Because of the outpouring of support for Leblond following his close loss, the promoters decided to bring him back into the series, and he declared on his return to Jamaica on the weekend, that he is “a very happy man”. Leblond lost to Davis by split decision, and although it was accepted that the fight was a very close one, he filed an appeal with the Jamaica Boxing Board. The appeal was, however, thrown out.

PROFESSIONAL DEBUT

Tonight, in the sixth week of competition, he goes against a Jamaican boxer who is making his professional debut, but has declared himself yesterday, as being “ready for the challenge”. When Yeyo heard that Leblond was to be his opponent, he was concerned that “a fighter who lost is returning” but word is that he has accepted the fact that it is going to happen, and is preparing himself mentally for the fight.

Leblond, whose record is one win and one loss, showed in his fight against Davis that he is a good all-round boxer, and his trainer, Patrice Trudeau, said after the Davis fight that “it did him a world of good, and put him in good stead for his next fight”, which he said then was scheduled for June. This is now happening, however, and they were “pretty confident of victory” yesterday.

Yeyo has had about 25 amateur fights, and on his night, he can perform brilliantly. One never knows what to expect from him, however, so one will have to wait to see which of his many facets will be on display tonight. It should be a keenly contested affair.

In the bouts that precede the professional bouts, two amateur boxers from Canada, welterweight Joshua Frazer and middleweight Jake Daoust, are scheduled to go against Jamaican opponents.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170510/leblond-back-contender-clash

Team Canada’s Dave Leblond, who already has a loss in the Best of the Best Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series, will return to the ring against debutant Nico Yeyo at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium tonight.

The programme opens at 8:30 pm with an amateur card with Damion Williams of Jamaica fighting Joshua Frazer from Canada in the welterweight division, and Jonathan Hanson of Jamaica going up against Jake Daoust from Canada in the middleweight division.

The main event is scheduled for approximately 9:45 pm.

Leblond had his appeal in the split-decision loss to Team Jamaica Tsetsi Davis weeks ago turned down, but will take the place of Ryan Wagner after the Team Canada number-three seed failed his medical to fight Yeyo.

There was an outpouring of support for the Canadian in his fight against Davis, which many thought he had won. His return to the contest, if good enough, could see Leblond possibly facing Davis later in the competition in a rematch.

— Hurbun Williams

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sports/leblond-gets-second-bite-of-contender-series-cherry_98313?profile=0