The Greatness and the Grief

Jamaica Observer column published Monday 29 April 2024

by Jean Lowrie-Chin 

So there we were over the past fortnight celebrating the greatness of trailblazer Joyce Archibald, master blender Joy Spence and former Poet Laureate Mervyn Morris, then getting our pride ripped by the violence visited upon our children. Again we ask, how do we knit together the qualities of greatness into a safety net for our troubled children?

At the celebration of Joyce Archibald's 90^th Birthday, I heard numerous stories of this corporate wonder, one of the first women senior executives in the insurance industry. Lesline Chisholm shared that her first job was with Life of Jamaica, where Joyce was her boss. Lesline lived out of town and had difficulty commuting to work. She said Joyce offered to have her stay at her home and treated her like a daughter. Another man remembered how she interviewed him for his first job and mentored him throughout his life.

The multitalented Joyce served as chair of her Alma Mater, Convent of Mercy Alpha, for over two decades. She also chaired the boards of Cinematograph Authority, St Richard's Primary and was Secretary of the Our Lady of the Angels Prep board. Her daughter Attorney-at-Law Jo-Anne Archibald shared that her mother was "an excellent dancer, singer and actress. She won national drama awards and was Miss Ena in 'Dulcimina'," that riveting radio drama series.  She noted that Joyce was devoted to charitable works, serving Maxfield Park Children's Home and the Stella Maris Prison Ministry for years.

Our IWF Jamaica Forum toured the Joy Spence Appleton Estate experience last week. Yes, the experience is named after the world's first master blender, a former lecturer, who after a stint at Tia Maria decided she wanted to join Wray & Nephew. She audaciously sent them her resume, was first turned down and then called back, bringing glory and untold wealth to the company.  She is a legend, declared by Fortune magazine 'most influential woman in food and drink'. Joy remains humble and engaging and credits her success to her coach master blender Owen Tulloch, whom she succeeded.

My Mervyn Morris moment: there was I, a rookie writer at the Jamaica Daily News, when my great Professor from UWI congratulated me on one of my poems and told me that he had read it in his selection of Jamaican poetry at a UK event. Professor Morris has mentored and affirmed countless aspirants.

No wonder then that there was standing room only when the National Library of Jamaica (NLJ) unveiled a bust of Prof Morris, created by Kay Sullivan, last Sunday. Velma Pollard gave thoughts on his latest collection, 'Last Reel' followed by his reading of his rich, relatable work. Ian Randle, who had vowed that he would not publish poetry said this was his 15^th Mervyn Morris publication. It was an impeccable event, thanks to emcee Fae Ellington, NLJ Chair Joy Douglas and National Librarian Beverley Lashley, who recognized the significant initiatives of her predecessor Winsome Hudson, and Special Programmes Director, Royane Green.

So much greatness, yet so much grief. Dr Lucien Jones, unfailing advocate for road safety, shared his mixed emotions in his weekly blog, as he reflected on Alicia Keys' song 'Fallin': "A song which as it got into my head, reflects my, perhaps our, relationship with my beloved country, Jamaica land we love. That we keep 'fallin' in love, best place on earth, nowhere no better than yard, only to be heartbroken. Again! For, what beast, what rage in the heart of a young man could cause him to stab another youth. Kill him, and now end up in jail charged for murder! What beast, what rage in the heart of a man born of a woman, and made in the image and likeness of God, propels, once again, (people fraid a dem) a gunman on a bike, to train his deadly weapon on two schoolchildren, kill one and injure the other?"

Jason McKay wrote about the 'gang family' where unattached youths are controlled by so-called 'dons'. How do we get to them before the gangs encircle them? When our children sing, "I am a promise, I am a possibility," they are looking to us to nurture their dreams, so that one day they can be celebrated like Archibald, Spence and Morris.

'Think Like a Hacker'

An 'ethical hacker' can save the very existence of a company and so we listened with interest to    Rory Ebanks, keynote speaker at the fourth Rickert Allen Lecture sponsored by NCB and held at the UCC last week. In his lecture titled 'Think Like A Hacker', Ebanks, Director of Cybersecurity at Symptai Consulting, opened our eyes to the risks we face in the digital space.  

"Every 39 seconds there is a successful attack … that means for every single day that's over 2000 successful attacks. 92% of that malware has been delivered through e-mail. Malware is malicious software," he explained.  He warns that we should not click on attachments or suspicious links if we do not recognize the sender.

He said that the average ransom demanded by hackers is US$4 million, so that hundreds of companies which have been hacked have had to go out of business. Hackers can be terrorists or thrill seekers, and members of your own staff who already have access to your system. "Even your neighbor could be a hacker - maybe they don't want to pay for Wi-Fi and they try to break in and get free Wi-Fi."

He warned about hotel and airport wi-fis as well.   "Open Wi-Fi is a very prime example of how hackers can target everyone."  Cloud based attacks are also on the increase. Here is how Ebanks says we can mitigate risks: use strong passwords (Jamaican language is hard to crack); use two-factor authentication; conduct security awareness training; perform back-ups, encrypt and test them, update devices and applications; practice email hygiene.

We also received sound advice from Dane Nicholson, NCB, Otis Osbourne, UCC and Superintendent Warren Williams, JCF. It was an excellent event, thanks to UCC President Prof. Colin Gyles, Keneia Mattis, Director of NCB Foundation and Belinda Williams NCB Corporate Affairs head. Congratulations to Octasha Sterling, this year's Rickert Allen Scholar and an outreach star in her own right.

Bankers meet with CCRP

At last year's CCRP annual general meeting, a resolution was passed that the organization which advocates for seniors, should meet with the Bankers' Association of Jamaica (JBA) to air our members' grievances. These include non-functioning ATMs, long waits even at times set aside for seniors, fear of scams and excessive bank fees, inefficiency and new measures.

CIBC, NCB and Sagicor have hosted several events to assist our members in understanding digital banking but there are seniors who are unable to manage digital transactions due to connectivity and other factors. We thank the JBA representatives for meeting with us online and suggesting a face-to-face discussion, which should assist in the resolution of these issues.

Photo captions:

Joyce Archibald

Joy Spence

Mervyn Morris

Rory Ebanks

 

Best of the West lead UTECH

Jamaica Observer column published Monday 15 April 2024

 

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

 

It was a mellow afternoon last Thursday as we listened to the life stories of the two Jamaicans who were installed as Pro-Chancellor and President of UTECH, Aldrick 'Allie' McNab and Dr Kevin Brown. Both are graduates of high schools in Montego Bay, Cornwall College and Herbert Morrison Technical High, respectively.

 

Allie McNab is known as a top footballer, broadcaster, founder of Visual Vibes, Chairman of Special Olympics Jamaica and senior consultant to Minister 'Olivia' Babsy Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. However, we discovered that he had a Champs Gold Medal for 100 metres in 1966, a record which stood for several years. He shared that as 'country boys' both he and the 'Munronian' who won the Silver never received a scholarship, while the Kingston students who placed after them did. Nevertheless, his football talent took him to the US where he gained degrees in management and graphic arts and was one of the founders of MLS Football.

 

McNab rarely speaks about his voluntary work, so few knew that he had been representing successive Prime Ministers on the Board of UTECH since 2007 and had served on various committees there over the past 17 years. His appointment as Pro-Chancellor was therefore a natural progression for a man whose entrepreneurial success and other achievements will see UTECH well served.

 

In his address Allie McNab declared, "We wish to send a message to all of Jamaica. UTECH is open for business; we are the country's only fully owned university; you own us. So it is our responsibility to take good care of your sons and daughters. We take this responsibility very seriously indeed as we help to hone their skills to navigate an ever changing and challenging world."

 

In his address, Dr Brown spoke of his humble beginnings and after introducing his mother Barbara Campbell a retired postmistress, he said, "I must talk about my late grandmother and matriarch Mabel Campbell, a phenomenal woman who I miss dearly. A lady who lived in rural Hanover, a place called Dias and she was a mere market trader … she said to my mother, 'I am in the market but this is not for you. Education is going to take you out of this.'"

 

His mother kept the education mantra going – with young Brown committed only to school, the library and cricket at Herbert Morrison. This served him well. After graduating from UTECH in mechanical engineering, he earned a Ford Motor Scholarship to the University of Nottingham where he earned both master's and PhD degrees in the same field. He held senior posts with Rolls Royce and received special recognition from the company recently, among several other prestigious awards.

 

Dr Brown paid tribute to Dr Alfred Sangster, first President of the UTECH and his successors. He thanked outgoing Honorary Treasurer the phenomenal Shirley Tyndall for her service to UTECH. He lauded our 'magical' teachers and acknowledged the union leaders at UTECH. As he noted that he was the first UTECH graduate to become its President, Dr Brown became tearful, bringing guests to their feet with loud applause.

 

In commenting on the changing needs of students, he noted, "This is the generation that wants it now … this is a generation that wants flexible education, education-on-demand so we have already agreed that we will start to give them stackable credentials, before they even get to the final year."

 

In addressing Education and Youth Minister Fayval Williams, he said, "This is a big challenge for us to upgrade our infrastructure. We have already started to do that Minister. We have many courses now aligned to the technological changes that are happening including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and much more."

 

Both McNab and Brown acknowledged the support of their wives, children, extended family and close friends who filled the UTECH auditorium. My husband Hubie was happy to share in the occasion, a proud CAST graduate in mechanical engineering.

 

World Bank lauds EPOC 

 

Chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the World Bank, William Maloney, last week lauded the role of Jamaica's Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) as the Bank forecasted a 2% growth of the Jamaican economy.

 

"Jamaica continues to be incredibly impressive in their management of external debt," he noted in a voice clip on the Nationwide News website. "The consensus mechanism that they developed, the EPOC several years ago that brought … the major interest groups in the economy together with the goal of managing the fiscal deficit and managing the debt levels, has worked extremely well and generated consistently declining overall debt levels which I think in the long term will lead to more dynamic growth."

 

With its published quarterly reports, the Keith Duncan chaired EPOC has tracked Jamaica's economic performance, noting the good, fair or deficient performance in every sector. EPOC had also held 'Pon the Corner' exercises where Duncan would lead discussions in layperson's language promoting understanding and participation among Jamaicans of all walks of life. We thank the volunteers on the EPOC for their dedication to our financial well-being.

 

Water problems

Jamaica is experiencing a drought, but our problems could have been minimized with better water resource management over several administrations. Our schools and resort areas are of particular importance. The cries of the caretaker at the Negril Primary School over the theft of the school's water tank resulted in prompt assistance from well-wishers.

Let us hope that we can look at permanent solutions, harnessing resources from the many springs with which we are blessed and making rainwater harvesting a way of life for Jamaicans.

Congratulations Claudia Gordon!

This column has lauded the accomplishments of St. Mary born Claudia Gordon, the first black deaf woman attorney-at-law in the US. Gordon has been a passionate advocate for special needs and a regular visitor to the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf in Jamaica.

Last Tuesday, US President Joseph R. Biden designated Gordon as Chair of the National Council on Disability (NCD). This is an independent, nonpartisan federal agency that advises the President, Congress and other federal agencies on disability policy. The former Vice-Chair, she succeeds Andres Gallegos, Esq, who passed away last year.

In accepting her new post, the White House release quoted Gordon: "I am honored to have the opportunity to serve the country in this capacity as chair and look forward to continuing our journey of increasing accessibility and inclusion in all walks of life. I also plan to continue and build on the policy endeavours of our late Chair Gallegos during his tenure to elevate the importance of addressing health disparities of people with disabilities and securing their equal access to quality health fair healthcare to the forefront of policy progress."

Let us remind the parents and families of deaf children that they can attend the residential schools of the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf in Kingston, Manchester and St. James. A mind like that of Claudia Gordon's would be a terrible thing to waste.

Photos:

Claudia Gordon

Aldrick 'Allie' McNab

Dr Kevin Brown