On Friday, February 24, which was celebrated as Jamaica Day, a team from Rainforest Seafoods visited Iris Gelly Primary School located in Kingston, where they treated over 180 students with seafood products sold by the company. The visit also incorporated the launch of their feeding initiative for students who will sit the Grade Six Achievement Test next month.
For more than 15 years, Chris Davitt and Craig Ruppert, along with their families and friends from the United States, have changed the lives of more than 160 families in Jamaica and Haiti in partnership with Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica.
Davitt and Ruppert have travelled to Jamaica each year since 2001 with a team of volunteers to construct several houses for people who need a safe and secure place to live.
This year, a group of 50 volunteers and staff members of FFP Jamaica built 16 houses, one chicken coop and a pig pen in the Clarendon communities of Race Course, Hayes Field and Banks.
Midge McDonald, who received one of the 16 houses, said the gift would be transformative because of the challenges she faced at the old home she shared with her brother.
“The floor is made of board and it was very shaky and there were holes all over. The roof was also in a poor state because when it rain it leaked badly,” said McDonald.
“I’ve fallen through the floor before and had to go to the hospital for treatment, and so we were in desperate need of a house,” continued McDonald, who received the keys to her house during a recent ceremony.
Tackee Anderson, who was also living in a dilapidated house, expressed happiness at getting a new one.
“My cousin and I were always worried that the one-room structure we were living in with our two children would one day fall down on us. We are really grateful and we give thanks to our donors for making our lives better,” said Anderson.
Speaking at the handover ceremony at the Race Course Primary School, Ruppert promised that his team would return to Jamaica next year to construct housing solutions for more needy families.
“We really want to thank all the beneficiaries and their families for welcoming us to your homes and community in such a special way. We enjoy what we do in coming down every year to build houses for needy families in Jamaica, and the smiles, happiness and gratitude you have shared with the team over the years convince us that you are appreciative of us and what we are doing in your community,” said Ruppert.
MONTEGO BAY, St James — A line-up of some of Jamaica’s top- flight artistes is set to deliver performances at the highly anticipated fourth staging of the Rainforest Seafood Festival on Ash Wednesday, March 1, at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay, St James.
The show, which returns to Montego Bay’s entertainment landscape after a one-year hiatus, has popular acts such as Bounty Killer, Tifa, Ding Dong, Romain Virgo, Cocoa Tea and Kevin Downswell down to perform.
Popular comedic duo Ity and Fancy Cat will host the event.
Organisers are hoping to raise more than $10 million from this year’s staging for donation to the We Care Foundation, which provides financial support to the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
“Our goal this year is to raise $10 million. In 2015, the last time we held the event, we were able to give $8.5 million, but we want to push and give a solid $10 million,” said Bethany Young, a member of the organising committee.
She noted that since the inception of the family event in 2013, some $25 million of its proceeds has been donated to the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
In addition to the entertainment package, patrons will be treated to an array of seafood by more than 20 vendors from across the island, including Little Ochi Seafood, Gloria’s, and Sharkies, as well as lionfish dishes courtesy of the Montego Bay Marine Park and the Fish Pot Truck.
Children will be entertained by the Sesame Street characters and a petting zoo. There will also be a fireworks on display.
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Strong-line-up-for-Rainforest-Seafood-Fest-2017_90356
A breakthrough for more than 300,000 students at the pre-primary and primary levels now gives them the ability to access interactive digital versions of approved Ministry of Education, Youth & Information reading resources.
The materials, hosted on the Bookfusion mobile app and website, are now enabled with music, narration and highlighted text delivered by Jamaican voices.
Already available are the 19 books in the Literacy 1-2-3 series. The development of an additional 30 books in the Doctor Bird Reading Series and Early Childhood Charts are a few weeks away from readiness.
Digicel Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have partnered with the education ministry and Bookfusion to revolutionise teaching and learning throughout the education sector.
Readers will have a more user-friendly way to utilise e-books which can be accessed on all mobile devices and computers.
“The added investment of interactivity creates mechanisms to improve the efficacy of the teaching and learning experience in and out of the classroom for thousands of students and their teachers islandwide,” said Dane Richardson, Digicel Foundation CEO.
“We are particularly excited about this added value because it directly empowers students as independent learners while simultaneously creating opportunities for well-needed parental support,” added Richardson.
Data from the project show that some students leaving early childhood institutions and entering primary schools are not at the requisite level of proficiency in basic literacy.
Almost 10,000 of 43,000 students enrolled in the 104 participating schools had to be targeted with remedial intervention in reading. Insufficient learning resources and limited involvement of parents and guardians were among the issues identified as the consistent challenges for these children.
However, with appropriate interventions, the targeted students and schools showed significant advancements in skills
The Cornwall Regional Hospital has benefited from some $25 million from proceeds raised from three stagings of the Rainforest Seafood Festival, which was first held in 2013.
The financial benefits that the hospital has reaped from the partnership with the family festival, held at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay, has positively impacted the standard of service offered at the health care facility, according to the hospital’s CEO Anthony Smikle.
He said that the much-needed funds, given to the hospital from the festival, has, over time, greatly assisted in the procurement of vital items for both the children’s care nursery and the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department.
“We have benefited from the proceeds. We have got some critical pieces of equipment, in terms of ventilators for the children’s care nursery and special equipment for the A&E Department and that have assisted greatly in emergencies,” said a grateful Smikle, who added that the partnership is ongoing.
The relationship was born in 2012 after a group of concerned citizens initiated the We Care Foundation.
We Care is a non-profit organisation dedicated to meeting the regional hospital’s need for additional manpower, basic health care equipment and infrastructural upgrades.
We Care member Brian Jardim, CEO of Rainforest Seafoods, conceptualised the family festival, which boasts a range of seafood dishes, kiddies games, giveaways and live entertainment from some of Jamaica’s most sought-after performers.
“He [Jardim] realised that he wanted to get the whole western Jamaica involved in giving more to the hospital so that was how the Rainforest Seafood Festival was born. The idea was to make it an event that everybody could attend,” Bethany Young of Rainforest Seafoods said.
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/westernnews/Rainforest-Seafood-Festival-provides–25m-for-Cornwall-Regional-Hospital_90353
This Lenten season will be the tastiest of them all as Rainforest Seafoods aims to entice the palate of food lovers everywhere with their annual signature seafood festival that kicks off on Ash Wednesday, March 1.
‘Captain’ Rainforest Seafoods set sail on the sandy shores of Barbican Beach for the launch last Wednesday night, and were joined by a crew comprising media personnel, who went along for the palatable ride.
The festival, set to dive into all things seafood in the Second City of Montego Bay, took a one-year hiatus but is back, and the organisers are promising it will be better than ever! So, this coming Ash Wednesday, all roads lead to Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre for 12 hours of food and fun.
Food got a taste of Rainforest Seafoods Festival, and my, do we have a treat for you! Here are a few of the exciting dishes.
Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/food/20170223/rainforest-seafoods-festival-seafood-paradise
Wray and Nephew 2014 Welterweight Contender champion, 34-year-old Sakima Mullings, is scheduled to fight Ghanian welterweight Fred Lawson at the Bukom Boxing Centre in Accra, Ghana, on Saturday, March 11, for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver International Welterweight title.
This will be the first time that Mullings will be fighting for an international title. He did, however, fight Clive Atwell of Guyana for the WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation super lightweight title in 2015. He lost by split decision.
Willie Yap, who is an adviser to Mullings, told The Gleaner yesterday that the WBC had been looking for a suitable opponent to go up against Lawson for the title, and he had recommended Mullings. After reviewing his 19-2 record, they approved the fight.
Lawson, who is 27 years-old and lives in Chicago, has a 24-1 record with 20 knockouts. He has not, however, fought since November 7, 2015 when he suffered his first defeat at the hands of Keith Bizier in Miami.
In that fight, he was knocked down in the fifth round and eventually retired in round 10 of a fight scheduled for 12 rounds. It is suspected he sustained a broken jaw. He had to take some time out after that fight to recuperate.
Reports are that Lawson is a rugged fighter who likes to keep the action at close range. With 20 knockouts in his 24 victories, his record speaks for itself. Mullings also likes to keep the action close, and his 14 knockouts in 19 victories attest to his punching power.
His last fight was here in Jamaica on November 5, 2016, against fringe opponent Courtney McCleave, with whom he toyed for a few rounds before stopping him with body blows in the fourth round of a fight scheduled for six rounds.
Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170220/mullings-books-ghana-date
A new school building, valued at approximately $3.19 million (US$25,000), is being built at the Tamarind Farm Adult Correctional Centre in St Catherine by Food For The Poor (FFP).
The facility, which will be used to deliver the Department of Correctional Services educational and vocational programme for inmates, will comprise three classrooms, an office and sanitation facilities.
Additionally, it will be outfitted with desks and chairs for instructors and students by Food For The Poor, which will also renovate the institution’s computer room as part of the 10-week project.
The initiative, which is being done under the charity organisation’s prison ministry programme, will benefit over 200 inmates.
Ground was broken to commence construction on Tuesday.
Pearnel Charles Jr, state minister in the Ministry of National Security said the project demonstrates the type of partnership needed to spur prosperity in Jamaica by addressing the factors causing crime and violence and instituting alternatives.
“We want to prevent crime on both ends … and to do so requires us to have the understanding that education is the foundation of any man or woman being able to claim their independence, whether it is economic or personal, or freedom from criminal activities,” he said.
David Mair, FFP executive director said Food For The Poor believes in and values education, and that an investment in education is integral to breaking the cycle of poverty.
Mair said the organisation built 37 early-childhood institutions islandwide between 2015 and 2016, noting that “our reason for doing this is to empower our children to become the best version of themselves”.
Source: http://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20170217/school-tamarind-farm-inmates
The Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Group has introduced a rewards programme for women as part of JMMB Her Wealth, a complete financial solution which includes investments, loan, savings and insurance.
The group last month introduced this first of its kind financial solution designed to provide financial empowerment for women, at an event held at The Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.
Jamaica country manager of the JMMB Group, Kisha Anderson, said as part of the company’s thrust to provide financial empowerment to women, the JMMB Rewards Programme is a perfect complement to the JMMB Her Wealth solution as it allows women to receive discounts as they spend, thereby maximising each dollar that is earned.
“Female clients who take advantage of the JMMB Her Wealth packaged solution will benefit from discounts of up to 20 per cent and other special access from partnering companies, by showing the JMMB Her Wealth customised token, which functions as both an accessory and an access card,” Anderson said.
Kerry-Ann Stimpson, chief marketing officer, JMMB Group indicated that in selecting partners to be a part of the programme the company sought to target services that are typically utilised by women daily, including medical care, beauty, recreational, auto and home and garden services.
“In addition to catering to the needs of women, our partnership is also supporting female entrepreneurs. Currently, most of the partners on board are small and medium-size enterprises, including several female owned and operated businesses such as Kiddi Palace, Body Bar by CCB, Adam and Eve Day Spa and Chocolate Dreams,” Stimpson said.
She indicated that most of the partners are located in and around the corporate area, however plans are in place to include additional partners islandwide, so that clients can benefit from a broader range of services and products that cater to the needs of women.
“Entrepreneurs that operate businesses catering to women are also invited to contact JMMB Group for further details on becoming a partner under the JMMB Rewards Programme,” Stimpson said.
“Based on the research done by the company, women represent a huge potential market opportunity for growth across many industries, including finance where there are gaps perceived in the way financial institutions cater to women and their unique needs,” Anderson said.
Source: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170217/jmmb-introduces-rewards-programme-women
A strong line-up of artistes is being billed for this year’s staging of the Rainforest Seafood Festival set for Ash Wednesday, March 1, at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex in Montego Bay, St James.
The show, which returns to the entertainment landscape after a one-year hiatus, will see some of the local popular music heavyweights taking to the stage in support of the Cornwall Regional Hospital, to which all the proceeds will go.
Bounty Killer, Tifa, Ding Dong, Romain Virgo, Cocoa Tea and Kevin Downswell have been announced to take to the stage of the popular event, which raised more than $25 million from its last staging — a target the organisers are hoping can be surpassed this year.
This year’s event was launched at Barbican Beach in St Andrew, where Chief Executive Officer of Rainforest Seafoods Brian Jardim promised a great showcase for those looking to attend for a great cause.
“The truth is Cornwall Regional Hospital is the only major health facility in the west of the island. So if this is a major outbreak, Cornwall is all we have so we must do everything to protect it, and that is what this festival is all about,” he said.
In addition to the entertainment package, patrons will be treated to an array of seafood by more than 20 vendors from across the island including Little Ochi Seafood, Gloria’s, Sharkies – the Middle Quarters Village for shrimp lovers, lion fish dishes courtesy of the Montego Bay Marine Park, and the Fish Pot Truck.
Children will also be entertained by the Sesame Street characters and a petting zoo. There will also be an impressive fireworks display.
— Richard Johnson
Source: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Rainforest-Seafood–fest-for-March-1_89821
Jamaica Highlights 