Category: Academics

St Mary Tech excited after computer donation

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St Mary Technical High School suffered a devastating blow in June 2016, when its library was razed by a fire.

The school’s need was realised when staff members of Digicel nominated the school to be the beneficiary of a set of computers under the Digicel Foundation’s Get Gifted Campaign.

“You came to our rescue. We suffered a major fire which destroyed everything in our library last year; our books, computers, chairs and desks. This gift from Digicel Foundation is a dream come true because we have written so many letters to a number of corporate companies with no response,” said Glascine McCormack-Lazarus, principal of the school.

Sannejah Henderson, head boy, said, “I know these computers will be very useful as students have to be typing their school-based assessments and trying to carry out research with limited access to a computer or Internet. This is will have such a positive impact for all of us. We are really excited.”

SHARING A COMPUTER

Since the fire, students preparing to sit CSEC examinations in information technology and electronic document preparation and Management have had to share the use of one computer in the library if they did not have a personal computer at home.

Heather Moyston, board director of the foundation, last week led a team to St Mary Technical and surprised the school with the donation of four brand new desktop computers.

“This school has been serving the parish with distinction for over half a century. It is an honour for our team to partner with the staff and students of St Mary Technical High to build on their foundation of excellence,” she said.

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20170121/st-mary-tech-excited-after-computer-donation

My Desire Is To Serve!

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To bring about the kinds of changes that will help people live healthier and more productive lives, volunteer organisations listen and learn to identify pressing problems that get too little attention.

This is why community service is important. Volunteerism teaches compassion and understanding, and has emerged through a process of identifying what is needed to assist people and where the greatest impact can be achieved.

Dane Richardson, now at the helm of Digicel Foundation, an organisation that has invested $3 billion in communities islandwide, is no stranger to volunteerism. Although earlier in his life he began a trajectory in pursuit of medicine, Richardson always felt there was something missing but could not immediately identify what it was.

It was while teaching at the Portmore Community College that he began connecting the dots towards his true calling, while pushing for solutions to assist students who needed remedial work.

“There were students at that level, but they could not read. Then I realised that the school itself had broader issues, where students were matriculating but not transitioning. This is where I was thrust into programme management and administration and I started designing programmes and meeting with different key stakeholders while trying to solve these issues,” Richardson said.

Having carved out a definitive career goal, Richardson joined the Jamaica AIDS Support for Life as programme development and grants manager. The Jamaica AIDS Support for Life is one of the leading health-care agencies in Latin America and the Caribbean, addressing the socio-economic challenges facing, and advocating for, Jamaicans living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, STIs, and intimate-partner violence.

According to Richardson, his experience at Jamaica AIDS Support for Life assisted him in understanding and acknowledging the capacity each person has to develop their true potential.

“I realised there is a lot more that can be done here in Jamaica. I was thrust more deeply into dealing with social issues and working with persons dealing with other issues who are less fortunate than us,” Richardson said.

“There are persons who are facing real and significant challenges in our country, and my eyes were opened to the fact that many Jamaicans are looking for someone who can be their voice and looking out for their best interest. I was able to take stock of my own life and do things to help others, not just myself,” Richardson said.

GIVING BACK

With the Digicel Foundation built on the premise of giving back, Richardson joined the organisation in 2013 as programme manager with primary responsibility for education. In 2015, he was promoted to head of programmes and a year later, he was again promoted to director of operations.

As programme manager for education, Richardson intensified the efforts of the organisation to empower teachers to improve the literacy and numeracy levels among students in primary schools, through the use of information communications technology (ICT).

“Digicel Foundation works in three areas – education, special needs, and community development. We cannot solve all the problems, however, we can galvanise support from other partners and, most important, the Government to ensure sustainability. At the end of the day, Jamaicans are the ones that will benefit,” Richardson said.

“We have had many achievements across the island over our 12-year history. At this juncture, we intend to look back at what has worked, what has not worked and build going forward; and really look at what is relevant to make the foundation stronger,” he added.

The Digicel Jamaica Foundation is a non-profit organisation that utilises funds on a charitable basis and remains a vested partner in the social development of communities by increasing access for the special-needs community to improve their quality of lives, by expanding access to education through technology, by supporting and empowering survivors of domestic violence, and by fostering a spirit of self-reliance through sustainable enterprise within communities.

“My aspiration has always been to head an organisation and to put in the machinery to effect change. Every aspect of what will transpire is team work, and we will work together as a team to effect necessary changes in the lives of Jamaicans,” Richardson said.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170120/my-desire-serve

PM Lauds Corporate Volunteers

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has hailed the outstanding philanthropic contributions of corporate entities that have served to engender a culture of volunteerism locally.

He said the Government appreciates the contributions by private and public-sector entities and is working to further stimulate and encourage volunteerism in the country.

“As a nation, when we all practise volunteerism, the country benefits,” he said.

The prime minister was giving the keynote address at the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS) 2016 National Volunteer Awards Banquet held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston last Thursday.

He congratulated the six awardees at the event, which was held under the theme, ‘Volunteerism as a Catalyst for National Development’.

Volunteerism

The Private Sector Award for Outstanding Volunteerism went to the Wisynco Group; Digicel Foundation received the Non-Profit Organisation for Outstanding Volunteerism Award, while the CVSS Member Agency of the Year Award went to the Jamaica 4-H Clubs.

Justice of the peace and president of the Kiwanis Club of Junction, St Elizabeth, Alethia Peart, received the Marion Ballysingh Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.

The Young Leader Award was presented to 24-year-old Portmore youth leader Neville Charlton.

Former Lasco Top Cop, Nadine Grant-Brown, who founded the programme Eve for Change, received the Public Sector Volunteer of the Year Award.

The highlight of the awards banquet was the induction of international recording artiste and philanthropist Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell into the CVSS Hall of Fame.

Burrell is the founder of the Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation, through which he is a supporter of the Bustamante Hospital for Children. The foundation has raised more than $255 million to acquire some 1,000 pieces of medical equipment used to treat more than 77,000 children each year.

http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20161214/pm-lauds-corporate-volunteers

PM Holness Hails Work of Corporate Volunteers

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PRIME Minister Andrew Holness has hailed the outstanding philanthropic contributions of corporate entities which have served to engender a culture of volunteerism locally.

He said the Government appreciates the contributions by private and public sector entities and is working to further stimulate and encourage volunteerism in the country.

“As a nation, when we all practise volunteerism, the country benefits,” he noted.

The prime minister was giving the keynote address at the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS) 2016 National Volunteer Awards Banquet held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston last Thursday.

He congratulated the six awardees at the event, which was held under the theme ‘Volunteerism as a catalyst for national development’.

The Private Sector Award for Outstanding Volunteerism went to the Wisynco Group; Digicel Foundation received the Non-Profit Organisation for Outstanding Volunteerism Award, while the CVSS Member Agency of the Year Award went to the Jamaica 4-H Clubs.

Justice of the peace and president of the Kiwanis Club of Junction, St Elizabeth, Alethia Peart, received the Marion Ballysingh Award for Outstanding Volunteerism. She is an ambassador for the governor general’s I Believe Initiative in the parish.

The Young Leader Award was presented to 24-year-old Portmore youth leader Neville Charlton, who is the youth director of the Silver Stone Citizens’ Association and also heads his own youth group, Youths Inspiring Positive Change Jamaica. He is also an ambassador in the governor general’s I Believe Foundation and has been impacting youngsters through his Tivoli Gardens Social Intervention Initiative, which seeks to offer mentorship and build self-esteem and character.

Former Lasco top cop, Nadine Grant-Brown, who founded the programme ‘Eve for Change’, received the Public Sector Volunteer of the Year Award. The programme operates through the St Elizabeth Community Safety and Security Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

The highlight of the awards banquet was the induction of international recording artiste and philanthropist Orville ‘Shaggy’ Burrell into the CVSS Hall of Fame.

Burrell is the founder of the Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation, through which he is a supporter of the Bustamante Hospital for Children. The foundation has raised more than $255 million to acquire some 1,000 pieces of medical equipment used to treat over 77,000 children eachttp://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/PM-Holness-hails-work-of—corporate-volunteers——-_83460h year.

The CVSS is the coordinating body for non-government organisation’s involved in social development and has a mission to build the capacity of its members and the wider community and to create sustainable alliances.

 

A New Day For Arcadia Basic School

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RELIEF has come for parents with children enrolled at the Arcadia Basic School in St Thomas as a new building, donated by Food For the Poor (FFP) Jamaica, has not only provided better learning facilities but also eliminated the payment of tuition fees.

The building has allowed the baic schol to merge with the primary school in the area, becoming the Arcadia Primary School’s Infant Department and bringing the former basic school under the direct control of Government.

The six-unit building, which was handed over to the school’s administration recently, has three spacious classrooms, bathrooms, an office, a sick bay and a fully equipped kitchen.

FFP donors Tricia and Matthew Miclette, who funded the much-needed building, said their donation was a way of honouring their deceased father.

“My father came from an impoverished family and never gave up, and continued to rise and I wish for the community of Arcadia and the school to continue to rise above and share in the blessing that the Lord has provided,” Matthew told the attendees at the handing-over ceremony.

The Miclettes expressed gratitude at being able to effect change in the lives of students of the infant department.

“We want to thank the community of Arcadia for giving us this opportunity and we want to thank Food For The Poor for opening our eyes to the level of poverty that exists for us to help,” said Tricia at the handing-over ceremony.

A “prize” is how Principal Mavern Downie Galloway described the new structure, while speaking at the handing-over ceremony. She sang the praises of donors Matthew and Tricia Miclette for funding the construction of the building.

“The passion you have has enabled us to tear down a barrier that limits education in this community. Your gift to us is a gift of love. Your passion has brought hope, and rest assured, hope will lead to success,” said the principal.

Member of Parliament Fenton Ferguson, who also addressed the gathering, lauded FFP Jamaica and its donors for their contribution to the education system with their construction of schools across Jamaica.

“I want to say a big thank you to Food For The Poor and the Ministry of Education for accommodating this new strategic action that I believe will be of great value to the education system as they (students) will have greater access to education.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/News/A-new-day-for-Arcadia-Basic-School_83005

 

Editorial | The Gap Between Research And Policy

Against the backdrop of the usual noise associated with political campaigns, a serious message may have been missed this week when the GraceKennedy Foundation renewed its commitment to research work at the University of the West Indies. The foundation funds research activities through the Carlton Alexander Chair in Management Studies and the James Moss-Solomon Chair in Environmental Management.

Chief executive officer of GraceKennedy, Senator Don Wehby, said the UWI must be known as a centre for solutions and a leader in promoting innovation and innovative thinking.

Increasingly, society is looking to tertiary institutions, like the UWI, to use their enormous human resources to bend the curve of technology in the 21st Century and deliver greater opportunities for economic growth and development to future generations.

As Jamaica faces challenges in social justice, health, agriculture, climate change and other areas relevant to national development, it is imperative that new research be undertaken to find ways of mitigating the impact of these challenges on society. These decades-old obstacles throw up numerous opportunities for academics to demonstrate the reach and impact their work can have.

Research is an expensive business and will not flourish without appropriate and consistent funding. Most of the research in tertiary institutions comes from external sources, including philanthropic organisations and private-sector entities. For these investors, it is assumed that they would be keen to measure the success of their investment by effective outcomes.

The results of such research cannot just be displayed during exhibitions at a designated time each year. This new knowledge gathered through research must be used in policy development. The results of research are critical in influencing development of policy, helping to shape legislation, and even to alter behaviours that are found to be detrimental to the common good.

UNDERSTANDING SCIENCE

It may take some convincing to get politicians to understand the science behind the research work, and even harder to get new policy implemented. However, we now have a minister of science and technology in Dr Andrew Wheatley, who has qualifications in biochemistry and chemistry and is a research scientist.

It may, therefore, be left to him to work with the scientific community to convey the idea of research-based evidence by demonstrating to his parliamentary colleagues how the findings were tested, debated and reviewed before achieving consensus.

Recent pronouncements by Dr Wheatley that Jamaica is not lagging in scientific research have been challenged by a letter writer to The Gleaner. The reader, who describes himself as a Jamaican with a scientific background, who has left the island to pursue opportunities overseas, decried the fact that “large-scale investment in scientific research is lacking”.

He suggested that there needs to be a scientific research culture in Jamaica. He lamented the lack of funding as one reason why persons passionate about science have become discouraged.

CRITICAL STEPS

It is indeed a fact that for the country’s research to serve the community well and command global attention funding, it is critical to provide qualified academics and procure equipment and infrastructure to facilitate their work.

Traditionally, policymakers tend to be heavily influenced by what is popular rather than evidence-based research, and this is why research-informed evidence is not assigned the place of importance it deserves in policymaking. It is time to bridge that substantial gap between research and policy.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20161126/editorial-gap-between-research-and-policy

GraceKennedy Foundation Renews $11m Funding For Research

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The GraceKennedy Foundation has renewed funding for the Carlton S. Alexander Chair in Management Studies and the James Moss-Solomon Senior Chair in Environmental Management at the University of the West Indies (UWI).

The Chairs are respectively held by Professor Ian Boxill, who has been in the post since 2010, and Professor Mona Webber, who was appointed on October 1 this year.

During a forum held on November 22 at the Regional Headquarters at the UWI, both professors spoke about their research, community work, and their relevance to current problems being faced by the country.

Among Boxill’s research and contributions over the past year is a programme with the Sandals Group and Island Tours to identify ways of leveraging Jamaica’s attractions, improving the tourist experience, expanding linkages, and earning more revenue for the country. He has also conducted a needs assessment with the Jamaica Manufacturing Association to identify the areas where greater support is needed by the sector to increase its effectiveness. Manufacturing contributed 8.6 per cent to GDP in 2015.

Webber’s account of her research opened eyes and minds as she shared about the life-giving and, possibly, life-saving work her team is conducting under the sea.

She spoke about the impact of pollution on marine health and announced that she would be delving further into examining content found in the stomachs of fish found in Jamaica’s waters. Already discovered is that some fish are consuming toxic micro plastics. Her research will have far-reaching implication for the livelihood of fishermen and the health of consumers of seafood.

Each Chair is funded by the GraceKennedy Foundation at a value of $5.5. million per annum.

CENTRE FOR SOLUTIONS

Don Wehby, CEO of GraceKennedy Ltd, commended both professors on their work, while also thanking outgoing James Moss Solomon Snr Chair, Professor Dale Webber, who was recently appointed pro-vice-chancellor, graduate studies and research.

“The UWI must be known as a centre for solutions and a leader in promoting innovation and innovative thinking among its students – the future leaders of Jamaica. Education, after all, is the ultimate problem solver … I again restate GraceKennedy’s commitment to UWI as we see it as one of our ways of answering the future’s call,” Wehby said.

Professor Archie McDonald, principal of the UWI’s Mona campus, described the partnership between the GraceKennedy Foundation and the UWI as “the quintessential merger of big business and education”.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20161125/gracekennedy-foundation-renews-11m-funding-research

GOOD COMES FROM FLANKER

Inner-city youth balances work & study, earns bursary

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Odain Murray collects his University of the West Indies Development and Endowment Fund (UWIDEF) bursary cheque from Margarita Morris, administrator and data officer, UWIDEF.

Final year student of The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Mona, and UWI Development and Endowment Fund (UWIDEF) bursary recipient Odain Murray stands as proof that Flanker — a tough inner-city community in St James — can produce good, educated and hard-working young people.

Murray — who has been on the Dean’s List for the last two years in the Faculty of Social Sciences and now holds a grade point average (GPA) of 3.31 — says while growing up he never gave in to the negative forces in his community, but instead used them as motivation for advancement.

“From seeing what was happening around me and not wanting what was happening around me in my life back then was what motivated me to work hard to get an education,” Murray, 27, told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

Murray aced the Grade Six Achievement Test and was placed at Cornwall College. He successfully completed high school and, in 2007, was accepted to pursue a bachelor’s degree in history at The UWI. He moved to Kingston, but the unpredictable happened — his father died suddenly and he had to put his tertiary pursuits on hold.

“After my father died, I started having some challenges, financially and otherwise, and I had to apply for a leave of absence from UWI in 2009. Then I started working in the performing arts industry,” Murray said.

While working, he realised that there was a huge demand for professionals to strategically market plays in Jamaica. So, he returned to The UWI in 2013 as a part-time student, this time pursuing marketing. UWIDEF has assisted him to continue his studies by awarding him a bursary of $100,000.

“I heard about the bursary while I was at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts. Then I went on the Student Services section on UWI’s website, applied for the UWIDEF Performing Arts Bursary, and I was successful. Being a recipient of this bursary is a good thing for me, especially for someone from the performing arts, because you hardly find this being offered in Jamaica,” Murray said.

“I chose marketing because I realised that the theatre needs proper management with regards to marketing. The new recreational activities most members of our society are drawn to involve parties and not theatre shows. I want to change this. That’s the reason I did not choose music or drama. I chose marketing to get the Jamaican theatre industry out there to a wider audience,” Murray explained.

For nearly two years, Murray has been working as a student assistant in the Marketing, Recruitment and Communications Office on campus, as well as in the performing arts industry.

When asked how he balances his work responsibilities and his school work, he said: “It is a major challenge, but I try to structure my time based on my timetable and when I don’t have rehearsal, I prioritise. I work when I don’t have classes. When it is that assignments are to be completed, I miss one or two rehearsals and try not to stay too late at work. That’s how I balance.”

Murray says he wants to become “a better human being” and when he graduates from The UWI in 2017, he has set his sights on a job with the Ministry of Culture or the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC).

He is particularly interested in the areas of policy and business development as it relates to the performing arts.

“The ministry can lobby for new policies and developmental strategies and JCDC has been around facilitating cultural retention for decades, and I could market aspects of our culture which needs promotion,” said Murray.

The young man believes in giving back. Already UWIDEF, his benefactor, has become a beneficiary of his generous spirit. In April, Murray assisted with arranging a benefit performance of Dahlia Harris’

Same Difference, which helped raise approximately $100,000 to provide meals for needy students at the university.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/career/Good-comes-from-Flanker_80282

 

GraceKennedy awards $17.5 m in scholarships

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Former head boy of Charlemont High School in St Catherine Avaughn Prendergast has won the GraceKennedy/Jamaica Scholarship for 2016, while Stephan Pitterson, formerly of Campion College, has copped the Douglas Orane award.

Both Prendergast and Pitterson are students of The University of the West Indies (UWI) where the former is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in actuarial science, while the former is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in bio chemistry.

Prendergast obtained nine grade ones in the recent CSEC examinations and completed 12 units of CAPE with 11 grade ones and one grade two. He is passionate about maths and represented Jamaica at the Math Olympiad in Nicaragua earlier this year. Pitterson, meanwhile, has eight CSEC subjects, with seven grade ones and one grade two. He has eight units of CAPE, including seven grade ones and one grade two.

The two are among over 75 students who were presented with scholarships and bursaries at GraceKennedy Foundation’s inaugural Scholars Awards Ceremony on October 20. Seven scholarships were presented to first-time recipients, while existing scholars who maintained at least a ‘B’ average, had their awards renewed. The entire package totalled $17.5 million.

Former GraceKennedy Chairman and CEO, Raf Diaz, was on hand to present a scholarship, named in his honour, to Shanike Josephs, a first-year accounting student at UWI. Her extra-curricular involvements include membership with the Jamaica Automobile Association, United Nations Club, Girls Guides and Interact (VP). Shanike has nine CSEC subjects, eight with grade ones and one grade two. She also completed eight units of CAPE, including seven grade ones and one grade two.

Other scholarships presented include the GraceKennedy/University of Technology Jamaica Scholarship, which went to Shanika Spencer; the Edna Manley College Scholarship, which went to School of Drama student Waldane Walker; and the Bruce Rickards Scholarship, specifically for former Kingston College students, went to Kadeem Campbell and Mark Lewis.

Final year student Withney DaCosta received the GraceKennedy/Caribbean Maritime Institute Bursary. The GraceKennedy Foundation also awarded several other bursaries to students attending UWI, UTech, Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, and Northern Caribbean University.

The scholarship applications open May 1 to July 15 each year.

At the awards ceremony, Grace Burnett, CEO of GK Financial Group, spoke of GraceKennedy’s investment in education through its two foundations which she said was aimed at bringing about a change for Jamaica’s future.

“All of our scholars are exceptional students with most coming from low income households and would not have been able to afford university education without assistance,” she said.

“Education is a very important area of focus for GraceKennedy, which is why our two foundations, the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation and the GraceKennedy Foundation invest so heavily in our children. We want to be the game changer- changing the structures in inner city communities, from dons to doctors or engineers or accountants and the many other professions, developing a strong workforce for Jamaica’s future,” she added.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/career/GraceKennedy-awards–17-5-m-in-scholarships_78753

 

ASPIRING DOCTOR CELEBRATES AWARD OF CARLTON ALEXANDER BURSARY

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Catherine Kennedy (right), Director of the GraceKennedy foundation, presents a Carlton Alexander Memorial Bursary to Peta-Jhay Shelly, student of Immaculate Conception High School. Sharing in the moment is Peta-Jhay’s mom Dionne Henry (left), employee of Dairy Industries Jamaica Limited.

 

 

Describing herself as a hard worker who has lofty ambitions of changing the world through medicine, Peta-Jhay Shelly has continued to make her mother, Dionne Henry, proud. Henry watched happily as her daughter accepted her Carlton Alexander Bursary Award earlier this month from the GraceKennedy Foundation.

Shelly’s consistent excellent academic performance since she was first granted the award in 2010 has merited her continued inclusion as a bursary recipient for six consecutive years.

The Immaculate Conception High School student, who started sixth-form at the prestigious school this month, has many reasons to celebrate.

The aspiring medical doctor recently received excellent results in the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) examinations, attaining nine ones in the nine subjects she sat.

“I was excited when I got my results because I continue to outdo my own expectations and I was also very happy to make my mother proud,” the student stated.

Shelly, who is focused on the sciences, was rewarded with a $60,000 bursary for her first year of sixth-form. If she continues to perform at a high standard, she could receive a similar amount in upper six. The Carlton Alexander Bursary Award offers a bursary of $40,000 to students in grades 7 to 11 while there is an increase to $60,000 per year for awardees who are in sixth-form. Students attending tertiary level educational institutions receive an award of $100,000 per annum.

The increase in the bursary has been welcomed with relief by Shelly, given the mounting expenses that come with matriculating into sixth-form at her institution. She sang praises of the Award which is in its 26th year.

“It is a great initiative and has helped my mother a lot over the years especially this year because the books are very expensive and now that I am in sixth form, my school fees have gone up,” explained Shelly who will be pursuing Biology, Chemistry and Spanish in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

The 17-year-old, who says she is not daunted by the expected challenge that sixth-form will present, is optimistic about matching her performance at the CSEC level in CAPE.

“I just want to stay focused and hope that I can come out of lower sixth with straight ones,” said Shelly.