Latest News

The uncertainty of job security has put Christine Richards on edge. However, the mother of two is grateful that, although she may join the unemployment line soon, her daughter’s education expenses are covered.

Why? Because her daughter, Tehilia Richards is the JN Foundation’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP) scholarship recipient for Manchester. “I was so excited, I just could not believe it and simply said to my daughter, ‘you see God is working everything out.’ And, it came in the right time,” she related with gratitude.

“Right now, I’m not sure that I will still have a job at the end of this month. But if it were not for this scholarship, I know that I would have to be purchasing books, covering school fees, and other financial costs; but I do not have to worry about that, because all those things will be taken care of. Therefore, it is like a blessing,” she informed.

At the same time, she is not surprised that her daughter did so well, to be awarded a scholarship, as from kindergarten, she was always a high achiever. However, the pandemic posed a challenge, as she pointed out that the online classes made her became complacent. At the same time, she had the support of her mother, who also monitored Tehilia; and her older daughter, who is in fifth form, while she was at work during the days.

“This additional support allowed her to do well in the PEP exam,” she pointed out. Ms Richards’ encouragement to parents is to support their children every step of the way, by going the extra mile to get them the resources, so that they can do well.

“Get as much past papers as you can. Let them practice the exercises in the textbooks. I did not leave her out. I gave Tehilia a lot of exercises for the different subject areas. Because,if they get the concept right, they will be ok. I would encourage all parents to sit with their children and help them with their schoolwork,” she advised.

Tehilia is now attending DeCarteret College in Manchester. “I was happy when I heard that I got the scholarship. This scholarship will assist my parents to cover the cost of my education, and for that I’m grateful,” she informed.

The McIntosh Memorial Primary School graduate said that online classes were difficult, because she learned much better in “face to face classes.” However, she put in extra work and did a lot of ‘past papers,’ which assisted her to do well in the PEP exams.

“Make a schedule to study. Also, take time to relax and do things that you enjoy. There should be a balance,” she said.

The Jamaica National Group, through the JN Foundation,is inviting applications for the Oliver F Clarke Scholarship valued at $2million, to pursue post graduate studies in the field of leadership and governance.

Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, says the scholarship, which is in its second year, was introduced as a celebration of the life and legacy of the late Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Jamaica National Group, media mogul and business stalwart, Oliver Clarke.

“The scholarship honours the memory of the late Hon. Oliver Clarke who passionately believed that good governance, anti-corruption reform along with strong, decisive leadership in the public and private sectors, are critical pillars for the development of a nation,” she outlined.

Deadline for applications for the scholarship is November 6, 2021. Persons can apply for the scholarship by visiting the JN Foundation website at www.jnfoundation.com.

Mr Clarke, who passed away on May 16, 2020, was instrumental in the transformation of the local building society movement by encouraging the expansion of building societies from parish-based entities into urban organisations, while maintaining their strong mandate to serve their members.

Russell Barrett was the first recipient of the scholarship, which was awarded last year. A senior public procurement officer of the Southern Regional Health Authority, Mr Barrett said that being selected as the first recipient of the prestigious scholarship was an overwhelming and grateful feeling.

“I’m most thankful and excited. The donor’s name, in which the scholarship is presented, is itself most prestigious. Mr Clarke has a legacy of his own, and I am proud and honoured to be presented with this scholarship,” Barrett had said at the time.

JN Scholar for St. Elizabeth, Sydonia Nembhard

Sydonia Nembhard, the 2021 JN Scholar for St Elizabeth, credits her mother and teacher for her accomplishment in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

An outstanding academic achiever, Sydonia earned a five-year scholarship from the JN Foundation, having obtained a placement score of 100 in Mental Ability in grade six and 90s in Language Arts and Mathematics, while in grade four at the Hopewell Preparatory School.  She was on the Honour Roll for grades three and four and was the top student in Language Arts in grade six.  She is now a first form student at the Hampton School in the parish.

Sydonia was one of 37 children who were officially recognised as JN Scholars, during a virtual JN Foundation Scholarship Reception held on September 28.

“I was proud and excited, because my mom wouldn’t have to pay for all the expenses,” she related, adding that because she lives far from her new school, the transportation cost would be high.

Sydonia is 11 years-old and is the only child for her mother.

Suzette Leachman is proud of her daughter’s achievements and was optimistic that her daughter would receive a scholarship.

“I felt good.  She kept saying, ‘Mommy, at least you won’t have to pay school fees; and you probably won’t have to think about bus fare.’ She is always concerned about those things and is very considerate.”

Ms Leachman, a guidance counsellor at Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester, opines that that children who receive active support from parents with their schoolwork, tend to do well academically.

“You have to be involved in your child’s life. If not, they are going to fall by the wayside,” she said.

“What I do is to let all her assignments come to my phone, so I always try to keep abreast of her current work,” she explained, adding that she also monitors her daughter’s Google Classroom for assignments.

The scholarship was also meaningful to Sydonia, as her father, Clive Nembhard, a school bus driver, lost income, as schools have remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sydonia’s grade six teacher at Hopewell Preparatory, Jennifer Miller, pointed out that Sydonia’s success is due to taking the right approach to her schoolwork.

“She was very serious about her work and did everything meticulously.  Whenever she has a task to do, she ensures that she goes about it in a manner that she can get her desired result. If she does not understand, she is going to question you and make sure she understands before she moves on,” disclosed Ms Miller, who added that she was not surprised about the scholarship award.

Sydonia, who enjoys reading and surfing the internet, maintains that other students can similarly achieve academic success.

“Work hard, but do not study too hard, because you may forget the other things you learned. I studied some of the time and try to relax by doing some activities to help me remember the work I learned,” she related.

She is inspired to become a medical doctor, because she has three cousins who are medical doctors.

“When you go to the hospital you see how much people are suffering and I would like to help them,” she explained.

Since the inception of the JN Scholarship Programme in 1983, hundreds of students have benefitted from financial assistance to pursue their education.

Despite missing online classes for an entire school term because she did not have a device, Almonique Hutchinson emerged the top student in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) for Hanover.  Her outstanding performance earned her a five-year scholarship from the JN Foundation. She is also the 2021 JN Scholar for the parish.

She was one of 37 children who were officially recognised as JN Scholars during a virtual JN Foundation Scholarship Reception held on September 28. 

Almonique, a former student at Bethel Primary who now attends Montego Bay High School in the neighbouring parish of St. James, related that she was reliant on her teacher to send the lessons and audio recordings of the classes to her mother’s phone.  Fortunately, her mother was home daily and was able to facilitate access to the lessons during class time.  As a backup, Almonique regularly followed up with her classmates to ensure that she was fully aware of what took place in class.

“My tablet wasn’t compatible with Google Meet,” she explained, adding that her mother was able to save to purchase a new tablet for the second term.

She pointed out that being absent from her classes made her worried.

“I was afraid that I missed out on something very important and it would come on a test and that I would end up failing the test.”

“For the activities, I do the work in my notebook and take a picture of it and send to my teacher and she would mark it and send it back to me,” she explained.

She also shared that her older sister, Alleca, a fifth form student at Montego Bay High School, pitched in to help her during the time she could not access her online classes.

Grade six teacher at Bethel Primary, Marsha Cooper, described Almonique as a hardworking student.

“She will go above what is expected of her just to ensure that everything is done. If there was any sort of correction, she would do it again because she wanted mastery.  She would say, ‘miss, can I do it again and miss, is there anything that you would suggest that I could do to improve what I’m doing?’. She was also a team player. She would participate in the group work in the WhatsApp group, even though she was not in the class to see what was happening,” Ms Cooper disclosed.

Almonique said when she became aware of the scholarship award, the first person she called to tell the good news was her father, Albert Hutchinson.     

For Mr Hutchinson, a mason, the scholarship was timely.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been working less days per week, due to the reduced demand for his service.  He pointed out that on the morning of PEP, he took Almonique to school, hugged her and gave her some advice on how to tackle the exam.

“Go and execute your best. Don’t rush through the work. Go back through [it] and see if you make any mistake,” he told her.
                                                                                           

Almonique’s mother, Omasha Thomas, who is currently unemployed, disclosed that her daughter has always maintained excellent academic performance since basic school.  At primary school, she consistently achieved grades in the 80s and 90s.

“She reads a lot. She would just sit there and read and laugh.  When she’s not doing that, she would be drawing. She draws very well.”

Almonique is aspiring to become a fashion designer or a chef. Like many persons, she is eager for the pandemic to be over soon so that she can return to face-to-face classes.

“It’s very sad.  I have to see the same four walls every day. I get bored,” she bemoaned.

As part of the eligibility for the JN scholarship, the students and/or their parents must be JN members, customers, or clients of The Jamaica National Group for at least a year.   Applications are done through the JN Foundation website. Approximately 550 applications were received through the website for this year’s award.

Two hundred persons will be rewarded each month, from October to December, by the JN Group for choosing to immunise against COVID-19 by taking one of the vaccines available. The incentive is being provided under The Jamaica National Group’s Immunise…Save Lives campaign.

The campaign is in support of the COVID-19 National Vaccination Programme and will arm people with information so they can make the best decision to protect themselves and their families; and place the country back on track to achieving its development goals.

Claudine Allen, General Manager of the JN Foundation, said that 200 individuals will be randomly selected each month and rewarded with J$2,500 directly to a JN Money Card.

Ms Allen said persons will be selected every other week. In order to be considered a valid entrant, persons must:

• Be vaccinated during the period October to December 2021
• Receive their vaccine from an approved vaccination site
• Upload photo of vaccination card (front and back) to the JN Foundation’s website, www.jnfoundation.com/immunise

Their reward will be placed on their JN Money Card, if they already have one, or persons will be invited to apply with their TRN and ID, if they are not yet a cardholder.

“We want to encourage people to get immunised so that they can be protected,” noted Ms Allen, “and by doing so we all will be protected and our children can return to school and we can get back to socializing as we used to before COVID-19. Do it for families, your communities and country.”

Beyond the incentives it is offering, JN will also be engaging communities in conversations under the ‘Immunise… Save Lives’ campaign and establishing partnerships to set up vaccination sites at several of its locations across the country to expand access to vaccines.   

The ‘Immunise… Save Lives’  campaign also includes a mass education component centred on simplifying information for Jamaicans by using accessible language, visuals and personas. The initiative is being championed by the JN Foundation.

Claudine Allen (left), general manager of the JN Foundation presents D’Ashley McLean (centre) with a token. Looking on is her mother, Shamane Stewart.

Shamane Stewart was an elated mother when she got the news that her daughter, D’Ashley McLean, was awarded a JN Foundation Primary Exit Profile (PEP) scholarship for the parish of St. Thomas and for her this was the answer to her prayers.

“It was my neighbour who sent me the link to the scholarship application via Whatsapp and under the link was the message ‘aunty, let D’Ashley try this, you will never know’. That was my neighbour’s words of encouragement,” she said, noting that she also has another child attending college who she had to provide for.

Ms Stewart, who is an entrepreneur, said it was not easy keeping her daughter online during the pandemic, but she ensured that D’Ashley was never absent from class and she would listen to the classes and assist her with some of the answers to the questions asked by the teacher.

“She was always an honour student from grade one, she would always come up in the top 10. She came in with the second highest score in her school,” she informed.

D’Ashley scored 99 per cent in her Ability Test, was highly proficient in Mathematics, and proficient in Language Arts. She was placed at Ardenne High School.

For D’Ashley, she is overjoyed to be the scholarship awardee for the parish of St. Thomas. She said the scholarship has assisted with some of the financial expenses in moving on to high school.

“I’m really happy about getting the scholarship because it will really help out my parents. Since the pandemic it has been financially hard for some persons who have been laid off from their jobs,” she pointed out.

D’Ashley is hoping to one day to become a psychologist so that she can assist persons who have emotional problems.

She shared that studying online was very challenging and that it was sometimes difficult to follow the teacher and that she prefers in person classes. She however noted that she worked hard and tried to keep focused.

“I had to go to my bed eight o’clock every night, the use of the phone was limited and on the weekends I would do my studies. But I also got time to interact with my friends,” she said.

Her words of encouragement to other students are to study hard, do assignments, review notes and remain focused. “Never give up and always push and fight for your goals,” she said.

Ms Stewart’s advice to other parents are: “Be in your child’s life. What they don’t understand and you can’t assist with, seek help. I can attest that I’m always involved and put aside money to purchase her books and school supplies, as difficult as things might be, and I would try to help her with her school work.”

The JN Foundation awarded 37 five-year scholarships to students who excelled in this year’s PEP exams. In addition to the PEP scholarship awards, 16 students at the tertiary level will receive financial assistance to pursue their studies. 

General Manager of the JN Foundation, Claudine Allen, has welcomed the gradually increasing numbers of Jamaicans choosing to be immunised against COVID-19, noting that it’s a sign that the national vaccination message is getting across.

According to the Ministry of Health and Wellness, more than 280,000 people or about 16.5 per cent of the adult population were fully immunised up to October 3, and more than 500,000 more had received at first dose of the vaccines.

“I believe people are beginning to understand that in order to recover as a country, we have to take the jab, and that this is, in fact, not new to us as a country. It has been an effective way of eradicating several deadly diseases, which once limited our development,” said Miss Allen.

The deadly respiratory disease has already killed nearly 1,900 Jamaicans since March last year, and infected more than 84,000.

Miss Allen noted that despite the gradually increasing numbers of immunised people, disinformation continues to be a concern for her organisation, which is embarking on a campaign to support the efforts to achieve full immunisation against COVID-19 among the majority of its more than 2,000 employees and Jamaicans all over the country. The campaign is set to commence officially this week.

Many Jamaicans remain hesitant about the vaccines, Ms Allen- who is also the JN Group member ombudsman- said, due mainly to organised disinformation locally and globally, which has distorted understanding of how the vaccines protect people.

Aptly called the Immunise…Save Lives, the multi-million dollar JN campaign, is in support of the national COVID-19 Vaccination Programme; and will arm people with information so they can make the best decision to protect themselves and their families, and place the country back on track to achieving its development goals.

“Our discussions with many Jamaicans demonstrated a gap in their understanding of this global COVID-19 vaccination drive and others rolled out in the past during what we knew then as immunisation exercises often at schools and community clinics,” she explained, adding “This has contributed to vaccine hesitancy. We are aiming to reduce the hesitancy by relating to people based on experiences which they have had.”

In pursuit of these objectives, JN will be engaging communities in conversations; establishing partnerships to establish various vaccination sites at several of its locations across the country; and implementing exciting incentives for its employees and members of the public who choose to protect themselves and others from the ravaging disease. 

The Immunise…Save Lives campaign will be centred on simplifying information for Jamaicans by using accessible language, visuals and personas. The Foundation will rely on a strategically designed mass education campaign that will engage members of the public and employees in several community discussions on the ground and on radio; online discussions, and other means, to provide information and develop understanding and trust.

Special groups such as the elderly, persons with special needs and transport operators will also be targeted for immunisation.

“We will be using all possible avenues including volunteers, community outlets, public transport and other means to reach people,” Ms Allen emphasised. “And we will be designing vaccine drives in a way so that they are accessible to various groups, even if we have to bring it to them.”

The JN Group network itself is being saturated with messages, as the Group intentionally seeks to influence its employees, who will play an important role in carrying the JN message.

“We are going to be hosting interesting sensitisation sessions with employees and also targeting specific groups to help to carry the message within the network and to the public,” Miss Allen disclosed.

The organisation will be dispensing some $1.5 million in total in rewards over the next three months to 200 people, who will be randomly selected each month from October to December to receive J$2,500 on a JN Money Card for getting immunised.

“The decision starts with you,” Ms Allen stressed. “We urge everyone to play their part by making the decision to protect themselves through immunisation.” 

Launches Comprehensive COVID-19 Immunisation Drive

The Jamaica National Group is gearing up to embark on a comprehensive drive to achieve full immunisation against COVID-19 among its more than 2,000 employees and Jamaicans all over the country. The deadly respiratory disease has already killed more than 1,800 Jamaicans since March last year, and infected more than 81,000.

Aptly called the Immunise…Save Lives campaign, the multi-million dollar drive is in support of the national COVID-19 Vaccination Programme; and will arm people with information so they can make the best decision to protect themselves and their families, and place the country back on track to achieving its development goals.

In pursuit of these objectives, JN will be engaging communities in conversations; establishing various vaccination sites at several of its locations across the country; and implementing exciting incentives for its employees and members who choose to protect themselves and others from the ravaging disease. 

“As an organisation, our purpose goes beyond an opportunity to save in a savings account and obtain financial and other services”, said Earl Jarrett, Chief Executive Officer of the JN Group.  “Our true purpose has always been to enrich lives and enhance outcomes, so that, together, as one people, we can always be confident that we can achieve any possibility.”

Although Jamaica now has a fair supply of three different brands of vaccines for distribution- Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson- many Jamaicans remain hesitant about immunisation, due mainly to organised disinformation locally and globally, which has distorted understanding of how the vaccines protect people.

The Immunise…Save Lives campaign will be centred on simplifying information for Jamaicans by using accessible language, visuals and personas that will drive home the point. It will also seek to further expand physical access to the vaccines through partnership with the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The project will be driven by the JN Group Member Ombudsman, Claudine Allen, who is also General Manager of the JN Foundation.

“The objective is to establish trust and understanding, and to achieve that, we will be relying on the personalities, situations and language that are familiar to people and that they can identify with,” she explained.

The Foundation will rely on a strategically designed mass education campaign that will engage members of the public and employees in several for a on the ground and on the airwaves; online discussions and other means, to provide information and develop understanding and trust.

There are also special groups that will be targeted for immunisation, such as the elderly, persons with special needs and transport operators.

“We will be using all possible avenues to reach people, including volunteers, community outlets, public transport and other means,” Ms Allen emphasised, “and we will be designing sites in a way so that they are accessible to various groups, even if we have to bring it to them.”

The JN Group network itself will be saturated with messages, as the Group intentionally seeks to influence its employees, who will play an important role in carrying the JN message.

“We are going to be hosting interesting sensitisation sessions with employees and also targeting specific groups to help to carry the message within the network and to the public,” Miss Allen disclosed.

The organisation will be dispensing some $1 million in rewards monthly over the next three months to 200 people, who will be randomly selected each month from October to December to receive J$5,000 on a JN Money Card for making the decision to get immunised.

“Saving lives isn’t as difficult as we think. It’s as simple as seeking and spreading facts about COVID-19; being serious about personal hygiene and washing our hands, or getting a little jab. You’ll be amazed at how small personal actions can save thousands,” Ms Allen concluded. “We urge everyone to play their part.” 

D’Ashley McLean (right), former student of White Horses Primary & Infant School and first form student at Ardenne High, accepts a token from Claudine Allen, General Manager of the JN Foundation.   D’Ashley, JN Scholar for St. Thomas, is one of 37 students awarded five-year scholarships by the JN Foundation in recognition of outstanding performance in this year’s Primary Exit Profile test.

Thirty-seven students who recently matriculated to high schools across the country have been awarded five-year scholarships in recognition of their outstanding performance in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP). The recipients will be formally recognised as JN Scholars during a virtual scholarship reception to be held on Sunday, September 26.

The JN Foundation will award a student from each parish and county, while 20 of the awardees are children of employees of The Jamaica National Group.

This year’s scholarship award is in addition to approximately 100 JN Scholars, who are at various stages in their five-year scholarship, and who will have their awarded amounts renewed for the new school year.

JN Scholarship awardee for the parish of St. Elizabeth, Sydonia Nembhard, said she was overjoyed to be selected for this year’s award.

“I was proud and excited because my mom wouldn’t have to pay for all the expenses,” she related, adding that because she lives far from her new school, the transportation cost would be high.

Sydonia, an honour roll student and the top PEP student at Hopewell Preparatory School, achieved a placement score of 100 in Mental Ability this year and scored 90s in Language Arts and Mathematics, while still in grade four to secure a place at the Hampton School, an all-girl institution, also in St. Elizabeth, which was her school of first choice.

Claudine Allen, General Manager of the JN Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Jamaica National Group, commended the awardees for their achievement despite the challenges they faced with online learning in a pandemic year.

She pointed out that the annual scholarship awards are part of several sustainable initiatives that are undertaken each year to help persons find a way.

“Our goal is to invest in and empower our children to achieve academic success.  In a few years from now, they will be making a contribution to the development of our country, and we want  them to have the opportunity to begin establishing their leadership skills from early by ensuring that they get a good foundation in their education.  At a time when many parents are having financial challenges in providing the necessities for their children’s education, it was important for us provide that needed support,” Ms Allen said.

Approximately 550 scholarship applications were received through the JN Foundation website for this year’s award.  As part of the eligibility for the scholarship, the students and their parents must be JN members, customer, or clients of The Jamaica National Group for at least a year. 

This year’s PEP Parish Scholarship Recipients are Dante Butler, Almonique Hutchinson, Lliana Lammie, Tehilia Richards, Joel-lee Knight, Damir Fairclough, Djimon Staines, Kyle Walker, Sydonia Nembhard, Xaria Binns, Diamond Lahoud, D’Ashley McLean, Rhaymone Stewart, and Jameilia Wright

The JN Bank Easi Save awardees are: Ayana Blake, Aaliyah Gordon, and Zane Thompson.

The JN Employees’ children recipients are Camron Betton, Jordanne’ Newell, Dejario Dickson, Adrielle Jones, Hannah Lyons, Danielle Sinclair, Myles Morgan, Deshawn Daley, Jaylon Wilson, Makiya Malabre, Ebony-Jade Austin, Amirah Ben-Mohammed, Nadera Binns, Dario Wynter, Nia Yong, Reuel Allen, Dejon Barrett, Celina Brightly, Joshane Wilson and Khloe’-Renee’ Dacres.

In addition to the PEP scholarship awards, 16 students at the tertiary level, attending The University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, Jamaica, the Northern Caribbean University, and the University College of the Commonwealth, will receive financial assistance to pursue their studies. 

The JN Foundation is inviting students attending tertiary institutions to apply for one-year scholarships, to attend universities and colleges in Jamaica.

The deadline for the submission of application is September 3. Prospective applicants are invited to access the application on the JN Foundation’s website at: https://www.jnfoundation.com/jn-scholarships/.

To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants must be: Jamaican; should have completed one year at one of the eligible institutions; and have a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0.

Applicants must also have a relationship with a JN Group company for at least one year, either as: a JN member or customer of JN Bank, JN General Insurance, JN Money Services or client of JN Fund Managers, JN Small Business Loans, JN Life Insurance; or a member of the Jamaica Automobile Association.

The scholarship is open to students at any of the following institutions: The University of the West Indies, The University of Technology, Northern Caribbean University, the Edna Manley School of the Visual and Performing Arts, The College of Agriculture, Science & Education, Caribbean Maritime Institute, the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean and teachers’ colleges.

Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, said the scholarships provide the Jamaica National Group another opportunity to invest in the future of Jamaica.

“The scholarship recipients represent our nation’s future, because an educated population secures a brighter future for our country. It also provides our young people with the skills and self-confidence they need, to seek out economic opportunities,” she affirmed.

These tertiary scholarships are the most recent scholastic offerings by the JN Foundation, which will award students with five-year scholarships in September, in recognition of their outstanding performance in this year’s Primary Exit Profile, otherwise known as PEP.