Welcome to Impacting Jamaica
SHARING THE LOVE: Schools get water tanks
Five-minute feature on acts of kindness by local or overseas based non-government individuals and organisations that have benefitted Jamaicans.
Written and produced by the Radio Department of the Jamaica Information Service
News for Week of July 17, 2022
We are here to inspire, motivate and uplift.
6,000 youths to earn cash this summer
Six thousand youngsters from across Jamaica will be engaged in gainful employment over a six-week period under the Government’s Youth Summer Employment Programme (YSEP).
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The national initiative, which is in its sixth year, was officially launched at the Mannings School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland earlier this month by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, and Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie.
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YSEP participants, who will begin work on August 8, will be placed in public sector organisations.
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The young men and women will earn $10,000 weekly with team leaders earning $11,000 per week.
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Mr. Holness noted that the YSEP has provided employment for 27,500 young people since its inception, some 500 of whom have found permanent employment in the public service.
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“It is important that we acknowledge that the programme continued during what we refer to as the COVID-19 years, 2020 and 2021,” said the prime minister. “So even in the middle of a crisis we are able to continue with programmes like these to get our young people targeted interventions for employment.”
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August 19 deadline to apply for education grants
Applications are now open for the Public Sector Education Grants. The grants which are being offered through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service are open to qualified public sector officers and their children. The closing date to apply is August 19.
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Director of Strategic Workforce Planning Donovan Leon noted that since the introduction of the grants in 2017, many persons have applied for doing their CSEC exams, masters and doctoral studies. “I have seen a lot of persons use the grants to complete professional certifications. The maximum of the grant is… $150,000.00 per person, subject to the availability of funds.” Mr. Leon said.
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“Naturally, you can always have unlimited demands, but the supply side can somewhat be a challenge,” he said. “We accommodate as much as possible and ensure that…we are in the best position to satisfy that demand.”
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Students get training ‘to avoid use of violence’
In an effort to promote positive behavioural change and management of conflict within schools, 2398 participants across 81 schools were trained in conflict resolution.
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The schools include 78 high and 24 primary and were grouped under phase one of the Restorative Justice Workshops for students, teachers, and parents.
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Training was conducted from May 9 to July 1 and was led by the Ministry of Justice and the Safety and Security Branch of the Ministry of Education and Youth.
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Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck noted the workshop training was vital, because “Jamaica is being torn apart by wrongdoing of all kinds.
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“Within the schools, we hope that restorative justice can be taught and practised because we feel that in the schools, youngsters get into disputes, and these are natural parts of the ‘growing-up process’,” he said. “They need the skills to be able to resolve their differences and avoid the use of violence.”
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The Financial System Africa Needs
By Vera Songwe
ADDIS ABABA – For African economies that have yet to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine could not have come at a worse time. The economic wounds of the previous crisis had been stitched up, but more time was needed for them to heal, let alone for the scars to fade. Now, commodity-price spikes and supply-chain disruptions are compounding inflationary pressures, causing currencies to depreciate and food and fuel costs to skyrocket. Since the war began, oil prices have reached their highest levels since 2008, wheat prices have soared to 14-year highs, and fertilizer prices have surged by nearly 30%.
