Week of April 03 2022 | Impacting Jamaica

SHARING THE LOVE: Children at Black River Hospital gets toys

Five-minute feature on acts of kindness by local or overseas based non-government individuals and organisations that have benefitted Jamaicans.

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Written and produced by the Radio Department of the Jamaica Information Service

News for Week of April 3, 2022
We are here to inspire, motivate and uplift.

Boost for rural small businesses hit by COVID-19

Owner of Sage Designz and Media, Clifton Ellis Jr, said that the grant support from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), which will enable him to acquire much-needed equipment for his small multimedia enterprise, could not have come at a better time.

He said that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been “very challenging” for his business, noting that the last two years have been “a lesson in perseverance”.

Mr. Ellis is among 30 operators of microenterprises from Salt Spring in St. James, who have benefited from grant funding totalling $5.8 million, which will be used to purchase machinery, tools, and equipment to bolster their operations.

The beneficiary entities from Salt Spring are involved in small-scale manufacturing, agriculture and livestock rearing, fisheries, agro-processing, retail and food services, fashion and garment construction, furniture making and upholstery, beauty care services, multimedia and entertainment, and car care services.

Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, said that the agency is proud of the work it has been doing in helping to transform communities across the island. This is by channeling resources into community-based socio-economic infrastructure and social services projects.

Power cost at schools set to tumble under new drive

Thirty secondary schools across the island are to benefit from a pilot project to reduce electricity costs and increase energy efficiency.

The ‘Schools Energy Efficiency (EE) and Solar Pilot Project’ will be implemented through the Ministry of Education and Youth, the National Education Trust (NET) and Canada-based renewable energy company, Roswall Development Inc.

Under the project, the schools will be retrofitted with LED lighting, inverter air-conditioning units, solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, among other solutions.

Minister of Education and Youth Fayval Williams said that “global instability in the world’s supply of fossil fuels with resultant high prices [and] concerns about the impact on the environment are imperatives to getting this project under way”.

She noted that the dependence on utility-supplied electrical power “must [be] reduced,” while increasing the use of renewable energy sources.

For the execution of the project, Roswall Development Inc has established an Energy Savings Company (ESCO), which will be responsible for designing, building, financing, operating, and maintaining the retrofits.

Best of Jamaica to spotlight Canada celebrations

Jamaicans in Canada have organized a four-month-long series of activities to mark the island’s 60th anniversary of Independence under the theme ‘Reigniting a Nation for Greatness’.

The celebrations will start with an Independence Church Service at Faith Sanctuary in Toronto on July 31 and culminate on October 21, with Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation’s ‘Jamrock’ gala.

Other activities include a Bob Marley exhibition, flag-raising ceremonies, 5K Jam-Walk and brunch, illumination of Niagara Falls, gospel concert, film screening, fashion shows and food festivals.

In a video message, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, said that Canada has been a valuable partner in supporting Jamaica’s development in security, climate change, education, and healthcare.

She lauded Jamaicans in Canada for their ongoing contributions to the island’s growth and development. “The Government of Jamaica recognises your invaluable philanthropic efforts to build capacity within institutions dedicated to education and healthcare,” Senator Johnson Smith said.

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Justice Minister Delroy Chuck targets peace-making

The Ministry of Justice will be rolling out an island wide public education campaign focusing on the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods to settle conflicts peacefully.

Through the campaign, representatives from the ministry and the various ADR entities, will be going into communities to inform persons about the services available and to share successes of the programmes.

About $100 million is being provided through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to fund the initiative as well as other restorative justice activities.

Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck, said: “What we intend to do from the Ministry is to take alternative dispute resolution across the schools, churches, communities and in doing so we want to sensitise the citizens of this country that where they see disputes or have disputes, refer [those] matters to ADR.”

ADR programmes offered through the Ministry include restorative justice, child diversion, meditation, and victim support services. “Across Jamaica in every single parish, we have victim services offices. We have 19 restorative justice centres,” said the minister.

PARIS – Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards are the talk of the investment world these days. But despite the trillions of dollars of investments that have been labeled “ESG,” this form of investing has yet to have much real-world impact.

This is especially true on the environmental front (though such investments’ social impact has not been much more evident). Investor coalitions to combat climate change have exploded onto the scene, promising to steer a massive amount of capital toward “green” businesses and industries. At last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), private financial institutions pledged to mobilize $130 trillion – a figure greater than global GDP – for clean energy. And yet, the climate outlook is only worsening. Last month’s report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change offered “the bleakest warning yet” about what awaits humanity on a rapidly warming planet.