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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.

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 — 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.