Observer column for Mon 20 Jan 2013 | by Jean Lowrie-Chin
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| Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen (2nd right); Prime Minister the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller (left); Custos of St. Andrew, Hon. Marigold Harding (right); and Chairman, National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB) Committee, Rev. Dr. Stevenson Samuels, hold hands in prayer, at the NLPB held this morning (January 16), at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston. - JIS photo |
There were so many moving moments over the past week,
giving us hope for the New Year. We heard our beloved Governor General Sir
Patrick Allen appealing to the nation at our National Prayer Breakfast for
peace in our nation. “We
must live in comfort and peace in Jamaica. Let us get together and defeat this
crime monster," he urged.
Bishop Dr. Delford Davis who delivered
the key message at the event challenged those who vie for political power to
make not only party, but also country, the winner: “This is now high time for
Jamaica to win. Jamaica must win for all Jamaicans, and not for a select
few." His bringing up on stage the leaders of our two major political
parties and holding their hands in prayer harked back to that Peace Concert in
1978 at the National Stadium when Bob Marley did the same with Michael Manley
and Edward Seaga.
The
engaging PM Simpson Miller
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| PM Simpson Miller has a lively conversation with (left to right) Digicel Foundation CEO Samantha Chantrelle, Digicel Regional CEO Andy Thorburn and Digicel Foundation Chair Lisa Lewis at the organisation's Launch of their 10th Anniversary activities |
Gathered
under a tent in Grant’s Pen last week, we felt the connection that Prime
Minister Portia Simpson Miller makes with her people at the launch of Digicel
Foundation’s 10th anniversary programme. Commenting on the great
work of humble Jamaicans who had partnered with the organisation, she engaged
us as she declared: “Together, let us give diligent, ambitious Jamaicans an
opportunity to shine…Let us not leave them to those who are only too willing to
recruit them for their evil intents.”
The PM
continued: “I commend the Digicel Foundation for partnering with the Ministry
of Labour and Social Security to work island-wide to provide special needs
assistance to those on the PATH programme. … Your partnership with PATH complements
the efforts of the government, which has allocated $4.1 billion dollars to the
PATH programme in this current fiscal year.
In April this year, for the financial year 2014/15, this will move to 5
Billion dollars.”
As the elderly
struggle to pay basic living expenses and students to pay fees, we welcomed
this from her: “We have increased PATH benefits for the elderly by as much as
67% and provided $100 million dollars in scholarships to 1,000 tertiary level
students from PATH households.”
So far, the
Digicel Foundation has funded 437 projects in the areas of education, special needs and community development to the tune of
US$19 million or J$1.9 billion, impacting the lives of over 400,000 persons.
PJ
Patterson’s lively history lesson
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| Former prime minister, P.J. Patterson, who was the guest speaker, has the attention of (from left) Hilary Jardine, Barry O'Brien, Digicel CEO, and his wife, Ruth, at the 53rd RJR National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year 2013 Awards Ceremony, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, New Kingston, on Friday night. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer - Gleaner |
At the recent RJR National Sportswoman and Sportsman
of the Year Awards, former PM P.J. Patterson gave us a lively sports history
lesson. “There is no other country of comparable size and population that has
produced the very best in so many areas of sport over such a long time,” he
declared.
As social media became crowded with positive
comments on the address, Mr Patterson took us through decades of excellence. He
said our legendary cricketer George Headley was dubbed ‘Atlas’ for his exploits
at a time when we were “struggling against the dogma of racial supremacy.” He
noted that he had heard the arguments about the variant of the African gene
that contributes to “high-twitch” muscles and the effect of yam and green
bananas, but argued “other countries have access to that also.” Rather, he
believes, “It has to do with the Jamaican’s sense of self and refusal to be
typecast.”
Mr Patterson said the “remarkable achievement of
Tessanne Chin” was an example of our “irrepressible fighting spirit that has pushed
us into other spheres of endeavour – bobsled, skiing, dog-sledding in in the
Arctic.”
As he spoke of outstanding individuals, we agreed
when he declared, “Nothing can prevent us from lauding Veronica Campbell-Brown.”
While reminding us that he could not say too much, Mr Patterson remarked that
as the performance of Jamaicans stayed extraordinary from Beijing to London,
“it went from ‘enough is enough’ to plainly ‘just too much’, attracting the
envy of detractors.” He said that cheating cannot be tolerated, and therefore
everyone must be held to the same high standards. “Those who hold high office should know that
our athletes are precious and should have access to the best available
defence.”
The acceptance speeches of our international as well
as now local athletes of the year Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price and Usain Bolt made us
proud of these articulate superstars.
Best of all, their roots remind every Jamaican that with training,
mentoring and discipline any talented Jamaican can make it big.
The
Bold Ones of Manufacturing
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NATIONAL BAKERY'S BOLD ONES: Continental/National
Bakery Chairman Gary 'Butch' Hendrickson (front, centre) stands with the new
‘National Bakery Bold Ones of Manufacturing’ and guests at a press launch of the
2014 programme on Tuesday at the Jamaica Pegasus. From left are (back row):
Mrs. Sandra McLeish - Springvale Enterprises; Howard Coxe - Journey's End Wine
Co. Ltd; Grace Foster-Reid – Eco Farms Jamaica; Dorrette Ubanks - D'Nex Step
Sandals & Accessories; Devon Williams - Lifespan Co. Ltd; Racquell Brown -
Irie Rock Ltd; Lincoln Gordon - Lincoln Gordon & Sons; (front row)
Christopher Zacca - PSOJ President; Brian Pengelley - JMA President; Mr.
Hendrickson; Nayana Williams of Lifespan; Lacey Bartley of Bartley's All in
Wood; Ann-Marie Walter-Allen - National Bakery Marketing Manager; and Stephen
Sykes - Director of Operations, National Bakery.
- Gleaner photo |
Even as some wring their hands in despair, others
are stepping up to the challenge and providing employment for others. Eight such companies were named ‘The Bold
Ones of Manufacturing’, and awarded with marketing and promotional packages by
National Bakery. Brainchild of Chair
Gary ‘Butch’ Hendrickson, the company is sponsoring this multi-million
programme for the third time since 2010.
Previous ‘Bold Ones’ Michelle Smith of Chocolate
Dreams and Dennis Hawkins of Spur Tree Spices said the boost from National
Bakery helped them on a path to success, with both expanding and entering the
export market. They warned however that
no one who is afraid of hard work should go into manufacturing.
JMA President Brian Pengelley who was guest speaker
at the presentation also gave us an education on the challenges facing
manufacturing and called on the authorities for: tax reform – widening the tax
net instead of the near-harassment of current tax payers; removal of
bureaucracy and facilitating a business and investment climate; a stable dollar
and an adequate supply of foreign exchange.
It was heartening to see the well-finished products
on display by ‘Bold Ones’ Springvale
Enterprises, Lincoln Gordon and Sons, EcoFarms Jamaica Limited, Lifespan
Company, Irie Rock Limited, Journey’s End Wine Company, Bartley’s All in Wood
and D’Nex Step Sandals and Accessories.
“It is true that we at National Baking get a lot of compliments
about this programme,” said Butch Hendrickson, “but I can assure you that, as
the whole programme unfolds and we learn more about these outstanding
Jamaicans, we also draw a lot of inspiration from them.”
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