分类： society

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A transformative investment in inclusive education is taking root in Jamaica, thanks to a US$20,000 grant from the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ). The funding is earmarked specifically to build customized teaching facilities for neurodivergent learners enrolled in the island’s Grade 7 Academy initiative.

St Michael’s College, which shared the announcement via an official media statement issued Wednesday, confirmed that the grant has been allocated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston, the governing body that oversees the Grade 7 Academy program. The funding will go toward converting a shipping container into a suite of small, specialized classrooms at Holy Trinity High School, where the academy is hosted.

These compact learning spaces are purpose-designed to accommodate neurodivergent students, including those living with a range of learning differences that require tailored support. The project directly addresses a critical gap that program leaders identified during the Grade 7 Academy’s inaugural year at the school. During that first term, data collected from the cohort showed that roughly 20 students — equivalent to 13% of all incoming seventh graders enrolled in the program — displayed learning challenges that could not be adequately addressed in standard, full-size classrooms. Unlike their peers with typical learning abilities, these students require smaller group settings and one-on-one attention to thrive academically.

Program organizers emphasized that the grant will expand the initiative’s capacity to deliver targeted, appropriate instruction to every student, ensuring that neurodivergent learners do not fall behind their peers as they progress through their secondary education journey. The project marks a key step forward for inclusive education practices in Jamaica, prioritizing equitable access to learning support for students of all abilities.

Residents and commuters in St Andrew, Jamaica can look forward to the resumption of critical infrastructure work on Oakland Crescent and Oakland Road this Thursday, after a months-long suspension earlier this year. The upgrades are part of the government’s flagship Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme, a public works initiative focused on upgrading critical transportation and utility infrastructure across the island.

In an official statement released to the public on Wednesday, Stephen Shaw, the National Works Agency (NWA)’s Manager of Communication and Customer Services, confirmed that all lingering technical hurdles that forced the work stoppage have been fully addressed. The $92 million joint infrastructure upgrade faced unforeseen delays when lead contractor China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) Limited struggled to source the specialized pipe fittings required for the project’s new waterline installation work.

To keep progress moving while the supply issue was resolved, the project team reorganized the work schedule. Instead of pausing all activity, crews shifted focus to completing non-utility segments of the project, including pouring concrete sidewalks, constructing V-shaped drainage ditches, and installing curbs and channel systems along both roadways. That parallel work is now complete, and the required pipe fittings have finally arrived, clearing the last bureaucratic and logistical barrier to wrapping up the full project.

When finished, both Oakland Road and Oakland Crescent will deliver long-overdue improvements to the local community. Upgrades include brand-new potable waterlines, a reinforced road base, a smooth new asphaltic concrete driving surface, and enhanced drainage infrastructure designed to reduce flooding during Jamaica’s heavy rainy seasons. The project is split between the two roadways: $52 million has been allocated to the upgrades on Oakland Road, while the work on Oakland Crescent carries a $40 million price tag.

All construction work is being carried out simultaneously on both corridors, with on-site oversight provided by NO Whyte and Associates Limited. Shaw noted that contractors are now positioned to accelerate work to meet revised project timelines, bringing the upgraded roadways online for local use as quickly as possible.

On a Wednesday morning in Trelawny, Jamaica, a routine work trip took an unexpected turn for five members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Trelawny Division, when their official service vehicle overturned on Foreshore Road, leaving all five with only minor injuries.

According to details shared by an anonymous police source, the collision unfolded shortly after 7:15 a.m. as the group traveled west toward Montego Bay. While navigating a stretch of Foreshore Road in the town of Falmouth, the driver lost control of the vehicle, resulting in the rollover.

At the time of the incident, the three male and two female officers were heading to a scheduled shooting range training exercise, a standard part of law enforcement preparedness in the region.

Following the crash, first responders coordinated to extract the officers from the overturned vehicle and transported them to Falmouth Public General Hospital to receive prompt medical evaluation and care for their minor injuries. No other vehicles or bystanders were involved in the incident, per initial reports.

Motorcycle safety across Jamaica has taken a major step forward, with a targeted stakeholder training session focused on blocking low-quality uncertified helmets from entering the country and equipping both industry workers and riders with the knowledge to identify safe protective gear.

Hosted by the National Helmet Wearing Coalition (NHWC) at Kingston’s Police Officers’ Club, the session brought together 41 key actors across the helmet supply chain and regulatory ecosystem, including government regulators, law enforcement personnel, border control officials at ports, and helmet suppliers and distributors. All attendees hold critical roles in turning Jamaica’s new national helmet safety standards from written policy into tangible public protection.

Sydoney Preddie, lead for youth and education at the JN Foundation – a core partner of the coalition – explained that capacity building across every level of the market is non-negotiable for successful implementation. Preddie emphasized that Jamaica’s ports of entry serve as the very first line of defense against substandard helmets, making training for port officials particularly urgent. “Our core goal is simple: guarantee that only quality, certified helmets pass through Jamaican ports and reach consumers,” she said.

Per an official release from the JN Foundation, the training was structured to build hands-on technical capacity, walking attendees through what regulatory compliance looks like in real-world practice. The curriculum covered every key detail required for accurate safety assessments, from helmet construction and recognized certification markings to mandatory labelling standards and retention system design. These skills enable stakeholders to reject unsafe helmets before they are cleared for domestic sale or distribution.

Leading expert presentations were delivered by three seasoned specialists: Dr. Terry Smith, lead scientist at safety firm Galeatus and a helmet expert consultant to the FIA Foundation; Dr. Wendell Richards, a member of the National Compliance and Regulatory Authority (NCRA) Helmet Technical Committee; and Victor Anderson, Programmes Coordinator at the National Road Safety Council (NRSC).

Dr. Smith, who supported the development of Jamaica’s new national helmet standard, used his session to underline the life-saving impact of certified helmets and the severe risks posed by untested, low-quality alternatives. “A certified helmet is not just an extra piece of gear for riders – it is a rigorously scientifically tested safety device engineered to absorb crash impact and shield the brain from catastrophic injury,” he noted. He added that peer-reviewed data consistently confirms that riders who wear helmets meeting international safety standards see a dramatic drop in their risk of death and severe head injury if involved in a collision. Dr. Smith’s participation in the initiative is supported by the global NHWC project, which assists countries around the world in strengthening their domestic helmet standards and increasing safe helmet use.

Dr. Richards next outlined the NCRA’s enforcement strategy that will take effect once the national standard is fully implemented, with a sharp focus on monitoring imported helmets at border entry points. “Our port enforcement model is both risk-based and standards-driven,” Dr. Richards explained. “We will conduct mandatory pre-shipment inspections to ensure all imported helmets meet national standard requirements, including assessments of certification paperwork, product labeling and third-party test results. This system ensures non-compliant, unsafe helmets are stopped before they ever enter the domestic market.” Post-clearance surveillance of retail markets will complement these pre-shipment checks to catch any unsafe products that slip through, he added. Dr. Richards also noted that close ongoing coordination with the Jamaica Customs Agency and other border control agencies will be critical, particularly during the initial rollout phase of the new rules.

Helmet suppliers and distributors were active participants in the training, using the forum to ask questions and seek clarification on inspection protocols, documentation requirements, certification criteria and compliance timelines. Multiple suppliers raised concerns about the potential financial impact of the new standard, specifically noting they face potential losses on inventory of uncertified helmets already held in stock once the regulation goes into full effect.

Training organizers confirmed they have heard these concerns, noting that including suppliers in early stakeholder engagement was a deliberate choice. The process allows suppliers to clearly understand their regulatory responsibilities, while also creating transparency around enforcement plans and transition arrangements to minimize unnecessary disruption.

For Preddie, regulating imported products is only half of the work: educating retailers and riders is equally important to driving long-term safety improvements. “We want every motorcyclist and their passenger to walk into a retail shop confident that they can tell the difference between a certified safe helmet and a substandard unsafe one,” she said. “Most importantly, we want them to understand that choosing a certified helmet drastically increases their chance of surviving a crash and walking away without life-altering head trauma.”

To support consistent, long-term implementation of the new standard, the NHWC and its partner organizations have announced plans to roll out a broader structured training program. Additional sessions will be held in coming months to reach more stakeholders across every segment of the import, distribution, retail and enforcement chains, ensuring nationwide alignment on the new safety rules.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s local media community is mourning the loss of a pioneering community journalism figure this week, after Marva Brodie, co-founder and long-serving director of beloved local outlet The News, passed away from a heart attack at her Havendale residence on Thursday, May 7. She was 82 years old at the time of her death.

Ben Brodie, Marva’s husband and a veteran Jamaican journalist who co-founded The News alongside his wife and serves as the publication’s managing editor, confirmed the news to local outlet Jamaica Observer Online. According to Ben Brodie, his wife experienced a sudden seizure shortly after waking on the morning of her passing. Emergency responders transported her quickly to a nearby hospital for urgent care, but medical staff pronounced her dead on arrival.

Originally launched under the name Boulevard News before being rebranded as The News, the community newspaper has served local Jamaican audiences for decades, shaped in large part by Marva Brodie’s commitment to elevating hyperlocal stories and connecting neighborhood residents. A public funeral service to honor Brodie’s life and legacy has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. this Saturday at St Richard of Chichester Roman Catholic Church, located at 126 Red Hills Road in Kingston.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A landmark corporate investment has unlocked historic athletic achievement for Convent of Mercy Academy ‘Alpha’, an all-girls Jamaican high school, after local food service provider Express Canteen donated $500,000 to cover the track and field team’s travel costs to the 2026 Penn Relays at Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field. The landmark donation capped a years-long turnaround for the school’s program, which earned its strongest performance in the iconic international meet to date.

This year marked the first time in Alpha’s 100-plus year history that the school entered a squad in the Girls’ 4x800m relay, where the team finished 13th overall with a time of 9:51. The team also earned a silver medal in the high-profile International Championship High School Girls’ 4x100m relay, clocking 46.42 seconds in the final after advancing from the preliminaries with a 46.75-second run. Additional standout finishes included a sixth-place placement in the women’s shot put from competitor Sajay Cruikshank and a heat win in the 4x400m relay.

For Alpha’s leadership, the athletic success is the tangible outcome of a decades-long institutional mission centered on nurturing young women’s potential, on and off the track. Principal Kali McMorris explained that the school, founded by the Sisters of Mercy, has always prioritized培育 young women into “change makers” and “visionaries” who can excel across every area of life. Athletics, she noted, has emerged as a core vehicle to help students build confidence, self-discipline, and a clear sense of purpose.

McMorris also singled out head coach Kirk King for his transformative leadership, crediting him not just for refining athletic technique but for mentoring student-athletes into confident leaders who thrive in the classroom and broader community. She emphasized that the half-million-dollar contribution from Express Canteen was not just a gift — it was the make-or-break support that allowed the team to even attend the international meet. While local parents had contributed endless time and effort to support the team locally, covering cross-border travel, accommodation, and event fees required a committed corporate partner. McMorris added that Express Canteen is the school’s largest consistent donor, with a long track record of investing in the growth of Alpha’s athletic programs.

The team’s Penn Relays success is the result of a deliberate five-year turnaround that followed the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the program restarted after pandemic lockdowns, only 13 athletes returned to participate. King, who had presented his five-year development blueprint to school leadership shortly after the pandemic, has led the program on a steady climb up the rankings at Jamaica’s premier high school athletics competition, the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championships. The team climbed from 31st place to 25th, then 15th, finishing 12th in 2024 and seventh earlier this year — just six points away from a top-five placement.

King credits the program’s rapid growth to both his athletes’ relentless work ethic and the sustained support from Express Canteen, which has gone far beyond covering travel costs. The partnership has provided critical nutritional support for the team, with athletes receiving daily lunches during training sessions — a change that King said led to immediate, noticeable improvements in performance. For King, building a successful program extends far beyond posting fast race times: nutrition, mental health support, emotional encouragement, and motivation are all equally critical to long-term success. He describes his role as a mix of coach, father figure, and mentor, with a core mission of nurturing well-rounded young women who excel academically and socially as well as athletically.

For student-athletes, the impact of the partnership extends far beyond the medal podium. Alia Ross, speaking on behalf of the entire team, expressed deep gratitude for the donation, noting that the opportunity to compete at Penn Relays has been transformative for the entire program. Ross added that participation in track and field has shaped her into a more disciplined, structured person, while also teaching her critical communication and teamwork skills that will serve her for life, both as an athlete and a private individual.

For Express Canteen, the investment in Alpha is part of a broader, long-term commitment to youth development across Jamaica through sports. Simone Foster, managing director of Express Canteen Services, explained that the company recognized Alpha’s transformative vision years ago and chose to engage not just as a one-time sponsor, but as a long-term stakeholder in student growth. She pointed to the team’s steady progress at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Championships and this year’s historic Penn Relays results as clear proof that sustained, consistent investment in youth sports delivers meaningful, lasting change.

Express Canteen’s investment in Jamaican youth sports extends well beyond Alpha’s track program. The company recently served as title sponsor for the All-Star U14 and U16 regional football competitions, supports football programs at two prominent local preparatory schools (Mona Preparatory School and St Peter and Paul Preparatory School), and helped sponsor an overseas football tour for Excelsior High School. For Foster, the company’s core mission is straightforward: to continue empowering Jamaican young people through sports, helping them achieve self-actualization whether they compete in track and field, football, netball, or any other athletic or academic discipline.

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Law enforcement in Jamaica’s St James parish has raised urgent alarms over an unprecedented string of fatal attacks targeting women in recent weeks, with senior officers confirming that most of the killings trace back to avoidable interpersonal conflicts between acquaintances and intimate partners. The string of violent deaths began on April 22, when 38-year-old Cora Thompson was gunned down in cold blood while she operated a book sales booth at the Montego Bay New Testament Church of God. One week later, on April 29, the body of 35-year-old Melissa Kerry Samnath, a U.S. national visiting Jamaica for a birthday trip, was discovered; a subsequent post-mortem examination officially ruled her death a homicide. Just two days after Samnath’s body was found, on May 1, neighbors alerted police to screams coming from a Catherine Hall residence, where 38-year-old Kadene Beswick was found dead with multiple stab wounds across her body. Most recently, on May 9, 32-year-old Jassett Blake was fatally shot near Montego Bay’s busy People’s Arcade, marking the fourth woman killed in less than three weeks in the parish. In a press briefing held with reporters on Tuesday evening, Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, head of the St James Police Division, opened up about the force’s deep distress over the escalating violence targeting women across the region. “We are extremely concerned that such a large share of our recent homicide cases have been women,” Samuels stated, drawing specific attention to the high-profile investigation into Samnath’s killing. The senior officer confirmed that Dean Watson, Samnath’s Jamaican husband, has been named a person of interest in her murder, and law enforcement has launched an intensive manhunt to locate him. What has left the St James police force particularly disturbed, Samuels explained, is the clear pattern linking most of the recent killings to personal conflicts between people who know one another, rather than random acts of violence or gang-related crime. “We are deeply saddened that so many of these incidents grow out of interpersonal disputes, and we are appalled by how many violent acts have been committed against women in our community,” he said. He added that since the beginning of 2024, 12 homicides recorded in St James have stemmed directly from unaddressed personal conflicts, a statistic that underscores how pervasive preventable violence has become in the parish. Despite the alarming surge in killings, Samuels reported that investigators have already secured major breakthroughs in several of the recent cases, offering a small measure of progress amid the crisis. “For multiple active investigations, we have made significant headway,” he said. “In the Catherine Hall case involving Kadene Beswick, the suspect is already in custody and has been formally charged with the young woman’s murder.” Turning back to the high-profile probe into Samnath’s death, Samuels noted that investigators have advanced the case significantly, but are still working to locate Watson, the key person of interest. “We are actively searching for Mr. Watson, and we are asking the Jamaican public to assist our efforts to bring him in for questioning,” Samuels said. The senior commander confirmed that intelligence indicates Watson has been moving between the Montego Bay area and neighboring St Ann parish, and that public tips could be the key to taking him into custody quickly. Beyond ongoing investigations, Samuels used the briefing to issue a urgent public call for proactive intervention before personal conflicts turn deadly. He urged St James residents to contact local police at the first sign that domestic disputes or interpersonal conflicts are escalating into violence, saying that early police intervention is the most effective tool to prevent more unnecessary deaths. “We are asking every member of the St James community: if you become aware of an interpersonal situation, whether it is domestic violence or a one-on-one conflict between two people that is growing tense, reach out to us immediately,” Samuels said. “That allows us to step in early and stop these disputes from turning into murders that tear our community apart.”

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Facing growing financial distress among educators coping with severe health conditions, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) is developing a new critical illness insurance scheme in collaboration with Sagicor Group to expand support for its members, JTA President Mark Malabver has announced. Malabver shared details of the proposed initiative during an interview with JIS News on May 12, at the launch of the annual JTA/Sagicor National Athletics Championships held at Kingston’s WBC Ben Hawthorne Conference Room, noting that the project grew directly out of feedback collected from JTA members across the country.

The coverage is designed to deliver an extra layer of financial protection for participating educators who receive a diagnosis of any covered critical illness, Malabver explained. When the association surveyed its members to gauge interest in the plan, over 90 percent of respondents confirmed they were ready to join the program if it launched, reflecting strong demand for this type of support among the teaching workforce.

Negotiations and program design discussions between JTA leadership and Sagicor Group are currently underway, with the association holding an optimistic outlook that the plan will be fully operational no later than this September. “We will continue the dialogue with Sagicor, and we are optimistic that by September the latest, this will be up and running,” Malabver told reporters.

The push for the new insurance plan comes amid a marked rise in the number of JTA members requesting emergency financial aid from the association to cover costs associated with serious illnesses, most notably cancer. These growing requests have placed significant unplanned financial strain on many Jamaican educators, as out-of-pocket medical costs for critical conditions often far exceed what standard insurance or existing association support can cover. “We have recognised that there has been a significant uptick in our members being diagnosed with some illnesses and it has created a financial strain on our members,” Malabver said.

Malabver clarified that the new insurance partnership will complement, rather than replace, the JTA’s existing goal to expand its in-house critical illness fund. The association has long worked to build up this internal support fund, but the Sagicor-backed insurance plan will create an additional, scalable avenue to deliver broader protection to members facing life-altering medical diagnoses. “We do have a critical illness fund that we are seeking to build out, but we also recognise that this will be another avenue to provide that level of support for our members, in addition to the critical illness fund that we are pursuing as well,” he added.

In the southwestern Jamaican parish of St Elizabeth, a wave of unruly violent clashes at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) has led to legal action and major campus disruption, leaving school leaders and local law enforcement grappling with how to address youth violence in local education settings.

Local police authorities have confirmed that four current STETHS students are facing charges of assault occasioning bodily harm, connected to a brutal attack on a 15-year-old fellow student carried out last Wednesday. The four accused include two 14-year-old girls, alongside a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old student, whose genders have not been released to the public.

The charged assault was not an isolated incident: it unfolded amid a string of successive brawls that broke out across the STETHS campus between 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm that same day. Earlier in the morning, an initial confrontation had already left one student injured, requiring police officers to be called to the campus to intervene. Unconfirmed reports from local sources indicate one of the Wednesday clashes involved a student carrying a knife, a detail that amplified safety fears across the school community.

Following the initial violent outbreak, additional fights broke out across the school grounds – some even occurring directly in front of senior school administrators. In response to the widespread disorder, STETHS principal Keith Wellington made the decision to suspend all regular classes and close the campus to most students for two full days, limiting access only to students sitting external standardized exams and those preparing for upcoming competitive sporting events.

Wellington immediately notified parents and guardians of the shutdown, explaining that the extreme measure was implemented to protect the physical safety of every student, teacher and staff member on campus, and to give school leadership time to reestablish order and enforce campus discipline. In an interview with Jamaica Observer Online earlier this week, Wellington noted that school officials would be compiling multiple detailed reports for education oversight bodies, and that any further disciplinary action against students involved in the brawls would only be decided after those reports are reviewed.

Campus operations have since resumed for all students, with school administrators expressing cautious optimism that normal order has been restored. This latest outbreak of school violence has sparked renewed local conversation about student safety and conflict resolution in Jamaican secondary schools.