news

Troy Bygrave (right), business relationship and sales manager presents electronic hand sanitizer to a representative of the St Thomas Parish Library. Sanitizers were also presented to the Morant Bay and Yallahs Fire Stations and the Morant Bay Police Station.

The Jamaica National Group, through its JN Circle Chapters, distributed some $9 million to fund projects and deliver grocery vouchers, to provide assistance for persons at the community level, who have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds were made available through a Member Welfare Fund, which was established in March 2020, to deliver relief to those in need; and provide support to persons and organisations assisting the vulnerable; as well as, persons on the frontline, helping to control and treat COVID-19.

Claudine Allen, member ombudsman of The Jamaica National Group; and lead of the JN Circle, stated that the Fund has assisted the organisation to reach more persons who are in need.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left the most vulnerable of our society in need. Therefore, this initiative was deliberately designed to assist those persons who have been affected,” Miss Allen informed.

She noted that the Fund was being administered by the JN Foundationand the JN Circle; to provide grant funding for initiatives, which seek to bolster the efforts of communities in the management of the COVID-19 crisis.

One beneficiary from the Fund was The Jamaica Constabulary Force in Christiana, Manchester, which was assisted to keep its team safe, while they were on the job.

The supplies included masks, hand sanitizers, detergents, and a snack counter for officers, working on the late shift. They were presented to the police, courtesy of the JN Circle Christiana.

“This gesture is timely. COVID-19 is being taken seriously by the police officers here; and, as part of the first responders to the pandemic, we are very exposed. I say a big thank you to JN Circle for this donation,” Inspector Simon McCormack, of the Christiana Police Station, said. 

Alethia Peart, business relationship and sales manager, at JN Bank Christiana, said that the police were identified for assistance, given their first responder role, in the fight against COVID-19.

The JN Circle Morant Bay made presentations of electronic hand sanitizers to the Morant Bay and Yallahs Fire Stations, Morant Bay Police Station and the St Thomas Parish Library on June 29.

All 16 JN Circles are currently identifying needs within their communities, arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and are seeking ways to alleviate those issues through the JN Member Welfare Fund.

To date, through the fund, the JN Group has contributed $1.5 million to the Nurses Association of Jamaica, to assist the country’s nurses in their fight against the spread of COVID-19. The work of the National Council for Senior Citizens, the umbrella organisation what provides support to senior citizens, was also enhanced by a contribution of $1 million, through the Member Welfare Fund. The Police Federation and other communities across the country have also benefitted from the Fund.

Road-safety infrastructure installed at a section along Holland Bamboo Avenue, in St. Elizabeth, has been effective in better safeguarding the lives of residents living in the area.

In an interview with JIS News, Principal of Holland Primary School, Simone Doctor, said the amenities have been particularly beneficial to students at the institution.

“Anything that has to do with school development and the development of the children, I am always on board. So, all of the amenities and facilities that have been put in place, the children are utilising and they are keeping them safe all around,” Mrs. Doctor said.

The road-safety infrastructure includes a small bridge, sidewalks, laybys, and school-safety and speed-limit signs. They were installed as part of the 2019 Labour Day activities where Holland Primary School was among four institutions selected as national projects by the Labour Day Secretariat.

“The children are appreciative, because they know it is an exact location for them to stand. So, where the sidewalks are, that is where they stand to take vehicles,” Mrs. Doctor explained.

“The [speed] sign has been posted, and right now it is 30 km. Also, rumble strips have been installed on either side of the pedestrian crossing. So, those rumble strips would give the drivers warning to say that you are coming up on a pedestrian crossing, so slow down,” she added.

The Principal said that some sheds at the laybys would be welcome additions to further benefit the school and community.

One resident, Marsha Wilson, told JIS News that the community is grateful for the road-safety infrastructure.

“We feel very good because a long time we want it,” she said, noting that she also has a son and a niece attending Holland Primary School.

“Before, it was very chaotic because the children never had any sidewalk. So, we are glad we get the sidewalks,” she added.

Students and teachers at the Chavannes Basic School in Barbican were in a celebratory mood as the bathroom facility at the 43-year-old school was renovated and upgraded by the JN Bank Member Advisory Council.

“The bathroom was in a really bad condition,” said Caroline Brown, principal of the school. “Termites were eating away at the boards. Then JN came in and they assisted us as the facility became unsafe for the children.”

Brown said that the work involved removing the infected boards, spraying, replacing the bathroom vanity and toilet, as well as repairing the roof and improving the ventilation of the facility.

“The children are happy for it. Therefore, I extend our gratitude to JN Bank as we really appreciate the work which was done to improve the facility,” she said.

Christine Chambers said the Council decided to focus on early-childhood institutions for its project, and, as such, identified several of those institutions which needed assistance. Subsequently, Chevannes Basic School, which had greater needs, was selected.

“As we walked into the facility, my asthma triggered. It was an old trailer which was retrofitted. The inside lining of the bathroom was infected with termites. Therefore, to address it, we had to remove the entire lining of the bathroom and replace it,” she said.

“We are very happy that the Chevannes Basic School was selected, because those little children needed a bathroom facility which they could use in comfort,” she added.

Saniah Spencer, chief of marketing and product development, JN Bank, said that the Advisory Council was happy that they were able to assist the institution.

“The MAC (Member Advisory Council) tried to identify projects that would have an impact, and Chevannes Basic School is an institution which serves the communities of Stand Pipe, Papine, Gordon Town and as far as Portmore, St Catherine. Our children deserve the best and JN Bank was happy to be on board for the project,” she said.

The JN Bank’s MAC, formerly known as the Branch Advisory Councils, were established in 2006 to provide JN members with the opportunity to engage directly in the identification and selection of projects within their communities and positively

Desmond Whitley (sitting), manager at the Sunbeam Children’s Home  shows off one of the laptops that was received from the JN Member Advisory Council. Making the presentations were (from left) Tisharn Farquharson, member hospitality officer, JN Bank Old Harbour; Chevanese Peters, programmes coordinator, JN Foundation; Paulette Chambers-Salmon, business relationship and sales manager, at the JN Bank May Pen branch and Alicia Young-Grey of the Marketing department, JN Bank.

Whether you’re one or 92 years old, for many of us, Christmas often conjures up childlike sentiments.

And those feelings emerged in the form of ‘hilarious tall tales’ from a group of golden agers recently as they were treated to lunch, presented with gifts, and enjoyed a mini concert hosted by The JN Foundation and its ACT!ON volunteers at the Golden Age Home in St Andrew.

The golden agers reminisced about their family gatherings, childish pranks and, of course, the traditional Jamaican cuisine they enjoyed in their youth. They recalled not only sorrel and fruit cake, but also red herring and ‘jontono’ bread, an alternate pronunciation for ‘joined-up’, as the product was characteristically formed from three breads joined together. In addition, there was ackee and salt fish, jackass corn (a hard biscuit made primarily from coconut), and other traditional Jamaican delights.

“One time, me tief out the whole of the middle of the biscuit,” 101 year-old Cybil Francis recalled, as her mind took her back to Christmas when, as a girl, her mother would bake trays of coconut biscuits (jackass corn) and serve the sweet treats with some traditional chocolate tea. “And me get a good whacking fi tief out the coconut business,” she said, to peals of laughter.

JONTONO BREAD AND RED HERRING
Another resident, Claude White, recounted an even more detailed and funnier trip with an uncle as they travelled by donkey on an errand for his grandmother, with whom he lived, to get some jontono bread and red herring for Christmas.

“Him go to the front and me at the back (on the donkey) and me pinch the bread. Then him buy herring and put it in the basket. Me pinch the herring and eat it with the bread and it sweet me!” he recalled, with much laughter.

By the time he got home, only about half the bread remained. But lucky for him, his grandmother did not scold him.

The stories kept flowing and grew more interesting as the seniors tried to outdo each other.

A ‘ram goat’ being used as a horse or mule? Gladstone Kerr was the next to tell his tale. He told of how he ended up with four stitches one Christmas following one of his boyhood meanderings.

“My father was a butcher, and two to three weeks before Christmas him always go around and get the biggest ram goat to buy (which was slaughtered for meat that was most often curried or used to make ‘manish water’ soup), and my duty was to tie out that ram goat (in the mornings) and carry it in at evening time,” he recalled.

However, young Gladstone decided to make an adventure of his daily chore and he made a collar for the goat.

“I jump in the back (of the goat) and ride it go bush and when I coming in the evening, I ride it in again,” he gleefully related.

Then one evening, he decided to take things a little further.

“I made a little cart. I sat in the cart and tied the goat to the cart. There was a deep corner with a gully. Me whip the goat and when him take the corner, the rope that I tied to the cart burst, and me end up down the gully and 10-penny nail run in my foot, and four months I couldn’t go to school,” he recalled.

For young Gladstone, it was a lesson learned, albeit a painful one, but one he could now relate with humour.

The stories continued from the 69 senior citizens that afternoon as they clamoured for the opportunity to not merely walk or jog, but to run down memory lane, eating and singing belove

The Resource Centre at the Sunbeam Children’s Home in Bushy Park, St Catherine was recently upgraded with new computers, books, tables and chairs, courtesy of the JN Bank Member Advisory Council (JN MAC).

Mr Desmond Whitley, manager at the Sunbeam Children’s Home, said that the institution was happy to receive the gifts, which were presented to the home on December 23.

“The best way to have an impact on the boys’ future is to go for their long-term development; therefore, we pay particular attention to education.  It is what we believe we can give the boys for their sustained development,” he pointed out.

“These boys are from very poor families. Some are from inner city areas and could have gone into criminal activities, if there were no interventions, and the possibilities of some of them dying by 25 years, is very real,” Mr Whitley added.

He underscored that education is key to the rehabilitation of the boys. He noted that when they are educated, they tend to make better decisions and do not turn to violence and crime. He, therefore, commended the JN Bank MAC team for buying into this type of vision.

“We are grateful to JN Bank for catching this vision. They could have bought clothes, but what they have done is to give us something that we can use to strengthen the abilities of the next generation,” he affirmed.

Mr Whitley stated that the computers will assist the boys in their research for their homework; and doing their school based assessment. He also welcomed the fact that, the laptops are flexible and are easily moved around.

The manager at the Sunbeam Children’s Home informed that two of its former wards are now pursuing tertiary studies at The University of the West Indies and at a teachers’ college. He accredited their success to the strong emphasis placed on education at the Home.

“The investment in education is an investment in our nation; as the development of our boys will be an asset to Jamaica,” he said.

Tisharn Farquharson, member hospitality officer, JN Bank Old Harbour, said that the Sunbeam Children’s Home was selected by JN MAC, based on the impact that the home has made on the development of Old Harbour and the Bushy Park area in particular, over the past four decades.

Paulette Chambers-Salmon, business relationship and sales manager, at the JN Bank May Pen branch, said that she was happy that JN Bank was able to assist by improving the equipment in the Resource Centre at the home.

“It is a great feeling,” she related, pointing out that, “I know what it feels like to be without; and would like to do things, but cannot, because of limited resources.”

“The JN MAC believed that this was a worthy cause and, therefore, we decided to assist. The Home is stretched from lack of resources; hence, they would not be able to outfit the Resource Centre. We are, therefore, happy that we were able to deliver on what we promised,” she affirmed.

Future community projects led by JN MAC will now be executed by the recently established JN Circle, a network of service clubs, which has been established to undertake activities, which were previously pursued by JN MAC.

A group of 15 persons, comprising engineers, developers, students, and water experts, graduated from a 16-week rainwater harvesting and grey-water-recycling training programme recently.

The training programme was organised by the JN Foundation in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) through the Water Project Jamaica.

Edward Shakes, one of the graduates, said, “The course was engaging, yet flexible, and, it was a remarkable, enlightening, and vital learning experience.”

Shakes, an engineer, stated that the course allowed him to design and scale a rainwater-harvesting system, that he will construct for his parents, who reside in Manchester, as he is now aware that the system is suited for the parish, based on its heavy rainfall.

TIMELY COURSE

For Coleen Williams, a householder, the course was timely, considering the effects of climate change, and she welcomed the applicable skills that participants learnt during the 16-week programme.

“It is knowledge to share. I can now speak from the choir to the choir,” she said, adding that she learnt a lot during the 16 weeks.

Onyka Barrett Scott, general manager of the JN Foundation, stated that the graduates were ahead of the curve, given that they were the first batch to be trained in rainwater harvesting and grey-water recycling.

“Today, we are proud to be recognising graduates who are armed with knowledge about rainwater harvesting and grey-water recycling; therefore, we are confident that they will effectively implement what they learnt,” she said.

The JN Foundation’s general manager explained that the aim of the initiative is to build local capacity in the design and installation of a variety of water-efficient measures in the housing sector. Participants were exposed to the components of rainwater harvesting systems, water-saving devices that can be implemented by homeowners to save water; and factors that affect water quality, as well as water standards.

Barrett Scott explained that, in the case of Jamaica, droughts and the shifting patterns of rainfall are already creating serious challenges that negatively impact the country’s water supply and distribution systems.

She also noted that the problem of inconsistent water supply has a devastating effect on families, institutions, and communities and affects the business models of housing developers and construction companies, as was experienced this past summer.
In addition, she stated that limited financing and an uncertain business case for water adaptation are barriers to the uptake of water-efficient measures by the housing development sector.

“The Water Project Jamaica, therefore, aims to tackle these issues through the provision of an impactful, scalable model which will enhance Jamaica’s climate resilience,” she posited.
Senator Pearnel Charles jr, minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, commended the JN Foundation and its partners for the training and added that it was a demonstration that they are thinking outside of the box.

He encouraged the graduates to implement what they had learnt. “I’m challenging you, so that, it does not become another line on your “résumé,” he told them.

The minister underscored the importance for the country having strong water-policy guidelines; and gave his commitment to move the plan from draft stage to legislative format. “We have to press on the gas to have it completed,” he affirmed.