The Digicel Foundation will partner with five infant schools in rural Jamaica and has outlined plans to give them all the support they need to achieve full certification from the Early Childhood Commission (ECC).

This certification process requires early childhood institutions (ECIs) to fulfil the criteria set under the ECC’s standards, which relate to health and safety (public health and fire safety reports and police records); and educational quality, including teacher qualification certificates.

To be fully certified, schools must also undergo an extensive inspection activity.

The Digicel Foundation’s action is in keeping with its history of strong support for programmes in education, having recently completed a four-year partnership for education enrichment with the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information.

Speaking at the recent closing ceremony for the Enrichment Initiative Programme, State Minister in the education ministry Floyd Green lauded the Digicel Foundation for its continued impactful work with early childhood institutions.

BOOST TO GOV’T VISION

“The Digicel Foundation’s corporate social responsibility has been a boost to the Government’s vision of developing our children to their fullest potential, irrespective of their social and economic backgrounds,” said Green.

Mission Director for USAID Maura Barry Boyle also expressed delight at the impact of the collaborative effort of her organisation, the foundation and the education ministry on students.

“Together, we have successfully improved the early grade reading skills of hundreds of the island’s children. I commend the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information and the Digicel Foundation for their commitment to achieving a 100 per cent literacy rate for all Jamaicans,” said Boyle.

“The data we gathered from the project forced us to start rethinking our efforts towards ensuring that the important markers in the education sector are achieved,” noted Dane Richardson, CEO of the Digicel Foundation.

“That’s why we’re focusing on ECIs, starting with the schools we’ve selected, which are all located in rural Jamaica.”

The schools are New Works Primary and Infant School in Westmoreland, Upper Rock Spring All-Age and Infant School in Hanover, Pratville Infant Department in Manchester, Carisbrook Infant Department in St Elizabeth, and Cassava River Primary and Infant Department in St Catherine.

The ECC, which has regulatory responsibility for all early childhood institutions, will now work closely with the foundation to ensure these schools meet all the necessary standards.

FOSTERING BETTER LEARNING

Karlene Degrasse-Deslandes, executive director of the ECC, said: “We are happy to welcome yet another partner on this journey to improve our early-childhood sector and guarantee a better learning environment for our children.

“The commission is convinced that this level of commitment from Digicel Foundation will encourage other stakeholders in the private sector to provide support needed to raise the standard of education.”

Since 2009, the Digicel Foundation has been a committed partner in education, working with 231 primary schools across the island to improve literacy between grades one and three. To date, more than 100,000 students have been impacted and more than 250 teachers trained.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170409/digicel-foundation-pledges-help-five-rural-schools-achieve-full-ecc

Sakima “The Mauler” Mullings got the seventh staging of Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series off on a successful note on opening night.

This was after carving a well-earned unanimous points decision over rock-tough Canadian bruiser Winston “The Punisher” Matthews before a massive and appreciative crowd at the Chinese Benevolent Association in Kingston on Wednesday night.

After a pulsating five rounds of heavy punching from both boxers, judges Keith Brown scored the bout 49-46, Lidell Irons 48-47 and Martin Dalida 49-46 to call it for Mullings. It was a decision that was greeted with tumultuous shouts of approval by the record attendance crowd on an opening night.

Matthews did not stay around for additional interviews following the mandatory interviews for the sponsors. This probably can be ascribed to his failing to get the decision of a fight he thought he might have won. But win or lose, he has everything to be proud of. For, despite his inexperience (three fights with one win and no loss) against the 21-19-1-0 Mullings, he managed to use his ruggedness and awkward stance to fend off many a Mullings attacks. And he himself nailed Mullings with a few good shots, especially to the face. These were attacks that the wily Mullings shrugged off as they were far too sporadic to cause the Team Jamaica number one to back up.

His coach, Jack Armour, in his post fight interview, said: “It was a great fight. It was lots of talent from both guys. I thought Sakima was shoe shining for the first two rounds, and I thought we won those two rounds quite easily and needed only to win one of the last three rounds and I thought that we accomplished that.”

Asked what he believed Matthews should have done to win the fight, Armour said: “Man I do not know what to say to you; I just thought he fought a great fight. I thought he stayed in the park as he needed to….I thought he traded with him. I thought he was able to outbox him staying on the outside and not get hit by him. I thought it was the crowd.”

Armour expressed the view that the judges were seemingly “influenced by the crowd”, as when Mullings threw a punch and it hit thin air the crowd reacted as though they really connected.

Mullings, for his part, was not disappointed with his winning result, but admitted: “I did not carry out my intended plans going into the fight. The plan going into the fight was to run over him (Matthews) like a DC cane truck. But my opponent proved to be durable, strong. I thought that I caught him with a few clean shots, but he is a durable, tough guy.”

Asked about his showboating, Mullings said: “My opponent was showboating, so I demonstrated to him that I can also showboat… Tonight I did not do too much boxing. I allowed my opponent to be the aggressor and then I would counterpunch. My opponent is a very strong guy and a heavy puncher, so I had to buckle down and be brave enough to stay the course,” Mullings said.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Mullings-off-the-mark-with-unanimous-win——-_94907

Wray and Nephew Contender junior middleweight favourite Sakima Mullings says that he needs some time to adjust to his change in weight class.

Mullings, who won the competition in 2014 as a welterweight, won the opening bout of the contest last Wednesday against Canadian Winston Matthews in a unanimous judges’ decision after five rounds, but seemed to have suffered fatigue after the third.

He said that the reason for this was that he was not only adjusting to his new weight, but also facing heavier-hitting boxers.

“I wouldn’t call myself faded, but it’s a learning process and it’s an adjustment process,” he said. “It’s a new weight class for me. I’m fighting bigger, stronger guys, so I’ll go back, listen to my team, look at the tape and we’ll work on certain things and move forward from here. There’s always room for improvement.”

He added that the plan this season is to be hard-hitting versus his opponents in each round.

“The game plan is to run over everybody like a DCK truck. Big truck series, we running over everything,” he joked.

Mullings, who all three judges scored winning four of the five rounds, said that he felt he should be facing better opponents than Matthews.

“Yeah, definitely (it was a mismatch),” he said. “Honestly, me having 22 fights under my belt, it’s definitely a mismatch. I shouldn’t be fighting a guy with only three fights. But my opponent (Matthews) is a tough guy. He’s very durable. I think that I caught him with some clean shots and he stood up to them.”

HAPPY TO BE INJURY FREE

He said that although he was not worried about losing to Matthews, he was happy to have walked away without any injuries after advancing to round two, and now he is going into what he calls “downtime” until it gets started.

“We’re coming off three months of work,” Mullings said, “so we’re gonna rest, recover and, for the next match, we’re gonna watch a couple of the fights and then we’ll start training and getting fit. When we find out who we’re (he and his team) gonna fight, we’ll work on a game plan for them.”

Mullings will not know his next opponent until the completion of round one of the contest on May 24.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170410/mullings-adjusting-new-weight-class

Sakima Mullings started his bid to become a two-time Wray and Nephew Contender title holder on Wednesday when he fought off a brilliant challenge from Canadian William Matthews to take a unanimous decision and book an early place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

In five-rounds of non-stop action at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium on Old Hope Road in St. Andrew, both boxers had the large crowd cheering wildly throughout the night and only the Matthews camp seemed to disagree with the unanimous decision of the judges. Judge Lindell Allen had it 48-47, while the other two judges, Jamaica’s Keith Brown and Canada’s Martin Dalida, had a 49-46 scoreline.

It was a very close encounter and every round was keenly contested. Matthews, who came into the fight with a record of one win and two draws, showed that sometimes records do not matter. He said, before the fight, “My record does not reflect my capabilities. I am here to fight and I will.”

True To Word

He kept his word. A south-paw with fast hands and good lateral movement, he used jabs to find his range and then attacked the body. Mullings was tentative in the early stages of the round and did not come to life until the final minute, but this gave him the edge and the votes of all three judges. Matthews won the second round with a good mix of power punching and defence, while Mullings took the third with superb body punching. Matthews satisfied one judge that he won the fourth round, which, again, was good for him, and the 48-47 score at the end accurately portrayed the closeness of the fight.

For Mullings, this was the first step in his stated mission – “to bring the Contender title back to Jamaica” – this because it was won by an American last year. He gave Matthews credit, but felt that he “was the better man” on Wednesday.

Matthews was dejected and both he and his camp believed that he had won.

“It was close, but William won,” said coach Jackie Armour. “He was up against a man with 22 fights. He fought brilliantly, and I hope that he can get a return some time in the future.”

The winner of the competition will take home the Contender title and $2 million, second prize is $500,000, third prize $250,000 and fourth prize $200,000.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170407/winning-start-impressive-mullings

 

Sakima Mullings started his bid to become a two-time Wray and Nephew Contender title holder last Wednesday, when he fought off a brilliant challenge from Canadian William Matthews, to take a unanimous decision and book himself an early place in the quarter finals of the competition.

Judge Lindell Allen had it 48-47, while the other two judges Jamaica’s Keith Brown and Canada’s Martin Dalida had a 49-46 scoreline.

It was a very close encounter and every round was keenly contested.

Matthews, who came into the fight with a record of one win and two draws, showed that sometimes records do not matter.

He said before the fight “My record does not reflect my capabilities, I am here to fight and I will” and he kept his word. For Mullings, this was the first step in his stated mission “to bring the Contender title back to Jamaica.”

This because it the series was won by an American last year.

“It was close, but William won,” said coach Jackie Armour.

“He was up against a man with 22 fights. He fought brilliantly, and I hope that he can get a return some time in the future.”

Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/sports/20170407/mullings-books-early-contender-q-final-spot

Food For The Poor Jamaica Chairman Andrew Mahfood (2nd left) shakes hands with 100m World Championships gold medallist Yohan Blake (right) at the launch of the third annual Food For The Poor 5K Walk/Run at the Spanish Court Hotel on Tuesday. Also enjoying the occasion are executive director Food For The Poor-Jamaica David Mair (left) and marketing and communications manager of Rainforest Seafoods Limited Bethany Young. The event will take place on Saturday, May 13 in Kingston. Proceeds from the event will go to the construction of 100 homes for the nation’s poor. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/5K-inspiration_94911

The Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series returns to the Chinese Benevolent Association tonight for what is touted its most ambitious slate of boxers to be brought together for a “Best of the Best” showdown between Jamaican and Canadian boxers.

The Wray and Nephew Contender Boxing Series is geared toward promoting Jamaica’s growing boxing talent against comparable talent from beyond its shores.

The innovators and prime movers of the local boxing culture — the series executive producer Mark Kenny and the Jamaica Boxing Board of Control — have selected eight of the best available talent from amongst Jamaica’s most accomplished boxers to challenge eight Canadians of comparable skills. They will vie for the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Junior Middleweight Contender and a share of $3,000,000 prize money.

The eventual winner will pocket $2,000,000. The runner-up will earn $500,000; third place $250,000 and fourth place $200,000.

Sakima Mullings, the Contender winner three seasons ago, is the number one seed. He is set to open the Jamaican challenge against Winston “The Punisher” Matthews over five rounds tonight.

The first and second stages of the Contender ceries will be fought over five rounds; the semi-final stages over seven rounds; and the final scheduled for 10 rounds.

Fresh from a 12-round split decision loss in a title fight in Ghana some five weeks ago, Mullings promises to be at his fighting best.

“I am in the best shape of my boxing life. All I had to do to keep my fitness was not to take a break from my fight in Ghana, but to continue the training process. I will enter the ring at 154 lbs, fit and ready and one can expect all the things that one comes to know of Sakima Mullings in the ring. I will be fast, I will be strong, I am going to be pretty. I am going to hit hard and each time I enter the ring my objective is to win,” Mullings said.

The number one seed has a ring record of 22 fights with 19 wins against three defeats.

Not much is known about his opponent Matthews other than he has had three fights with one win by technical knockout and two draws. He is said to be a strong puncher with a ferocious right.

“When I enter the ring I am in there to win,” said Matthews.

Mullings is being prepared for his fights at present by trainer Gilbert Vaz and manager/advisor Willie Yap.

Jamaica’s other top four fighters include Richard Holmes, who reached the last two Contender finals, and is seeded at number two. He has a ring record of 18 fights with 12 wins and six defeats.

Tsetsi Davis, who has also reached two Contender finals, is the third seed with a ring record of 21 fights, 16 wins and five defeats.

Former Contender winner Devon Moncriffe is seeded fourth and has a ring record of 18 fights with 12 wins and six losses.

Team Jamaica will be completed by Ricardo Planter, who has a ring record of 16 fights with six wins, eight losses and two draws; Ramel Lewis, who has a ring record of 12 fights with seven wins and five defeats; Canada-based Gregory Miller, who had one fight with one loss; and the promising amateur Nico Yeyo, who will make his pro debut.

Phil Rose, with a ring record of 11 fights with six wins, four losses and a draw, will spearhead the Canadian challenge. Ryan Young, with a ring record of 11 fights with 10 wins and one draw, is seeded at two.

Ryan Wagner, with a ring record of 10 fights with six wins and four defeats, is the third seed and Frank Cotroni, who has a ring record of 20 fights with 11 wins, eight defeats and a draw, is seeded fourth.

Team Canada is completed by Larone White, undefeated with two wins; Mike Breton, with a ring record of two fights with one win and one loss; Dave Leblond, with one fight and one loss; and Winston Matthews.

Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/mobile/sport/Contender-Boxing-returns-with–Best-of-the-Best–edition_94676

Jamaica’s popular boxing series, the Wray & Nephew Contender, starts tonight at the Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium with a five-round contest between Jamaica’s Sakima Mullings and Canada’s William ‘The Punisher’ Matthews. Before the main bout, which will be televised live by Television Jamaica, at 9:30 p.m., there will be two amateur bouts, starting at 8:30 p.m.

The series brings together eight junior middleweight boxers (154 pounds) from Jamaica and eight rivals from Canada. There will be eight fights over five rounds each in the preliminary round, and four more over the same distance in the quarter finals to be followed by two semi-finals over seven rounds, and then the grand final, which will be over 10 rounds, with the winner being crowned Wray & Nephew 2017 junior-middleweight Contender champion. First prize money is $2,000,000, second prize is $500,000, third prize is $250,000 and fourth prize is $200,000.

In tonight’s encounter, the No. 1 seed Jamaican, Mullings, with a record of 19 wins, including 14 knockouts, and three losses, will be going up against a Canadian with only three fights, one win and two draws. He had a 10-1 amateur record, with most of those fights ending by knockout. On paper, this is clearly a mismatch, but the Canadians have said that their man will be up to the task and will give a good account of himself. Matthews has predicted that he will win tonight. The question is, whether this is fact or fiction.

A CONFIDENT MULLINGS

Mullings, who is 34 years old, is also confident of victory and has stated categorically that “the Contender title will be staying in Jamaica this year, and I will be the man doing it”.

He was referring in this statement to the fact that an American, Demarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley, won the welterweight version of the series last year. Mullings started boxing professionally in 2010, and his major achievements have been winning the World Boxing Council Caribbean welterweight title in 2013 and the Contender welterweight title in 2014.

This records point to Mullings being the winner, but “not so”, said Matthews and his camp to The Gleaner yesterday. Matthews and his head trainer, Jackie Armour, are very confident of victory. Matthews, who is 36 and has been boxing for only two years, said that boxing has saved his life and made him into a man.

“I was a mess three years ago, and following a friend to the gym one day changed me. I was fat and weighed over 180 pounds, but boxing changed all of that. l have trained hard and have made this sport my life. I now enjoy every day. I work hard, I do not drink anymore, I am dedicated.”

Matthews has a Jamaican father, who he says he has not seen for maybe more than 20 years.

“I am not interested in seeing him. I was, however, nurtured by my Jamaican grandparents, with whom I grew up, and they gave me my Jamaican heritage, of which I am proud. I am taking that into the ring with me on Wednesday. I am going to share my victory with Jamaica, even though I am fighting for Canada,” were his final words.

Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170405/mullings-spotlight-contender-2017-begins