标签： Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica — On Jamaica’s Teachers’ Day, educators at Jamaica House Basic School were met with an unexpected, heartfelt surprise, as local food brand Pork Store & More by CB Foods launched a targeted community appreciation initiative to celebrate the critical, often underrecognized work educators do in building the nation’s future.

The event centered on elevating the foundational role that early childhood teachers play in nurturing the next generation of Jamaican leaders, industry professionals and entrepreneurs. During the on-site pop-up activation, every educator at the school received a curated Caribbean Passion smoked meat bundle, loaded with local favorites including corned pork chub, streaky bacon, chorizo and jerk chicken sausages, paired with a gift voucher for future purchases at Pork Store & More.

Brand representatives explained that the initiative was crafted not only as a public tribute to the daily dedication, patience and care that teachers pour into their students, but also as a practical support gesture. The meal bundles are designed to cut down on planning time for busy educators balancing packed professional schedules with personal responsibilities, simplifying everyday home cooking.

For many teachers at the school, the unanticipated recognition left a lasting, uplifting impression. Marsha-Lee Crawford, a K2 educator who has served at Jamaica House Basic School since 2019, noted that this was the first large-scale community gesture of its kind she had experienced during her tenure. While small tokens of appreciation from parents are common, Crawford said the brand’s outreach felt uniquely meaningful.

“Teachers are the backbone of every other profession — we make all other career paths possible,” Crawford shared in a company press release. “As an early childhood educator, I see it as a blessing to help shape and mold young minds that will go on to lead our country. This gesture made all that hard work feel seen.”

Samantha Fisher, assistant brand manager at CB Foods, emphasized that the Teachers’ Day giveback is part of the company’s longstanding corporate commitment to honoring the vital contributions of local educators. “Teachers do work that shapes the entire future of Jamaica, laying the foundation for every child’s growth and development. It’s a demanding job that far too rarely gets the public recognition it deserves,” Fisher explained. “For our team, this was about finding a simple but meaningful way to give back to people who give so much of themselves to our communities every single day.”

Fisher added that Jamaica House Basic School was selected for the initiative due to CB Foods’ years-long community partnership with the campus, which has included joint participation in national Labour Day service projects and ongoing product donation initiatives. The school’s location, just steps from CB Foods’ head office and the flagship Pork Store & More retail location, also made it a natural fit for the brand’s focus on supporting the neighborhoods where it operates.

Moiya Chin-Lyn, channel manager of retail experience at CB Foods, shared that the brand’s core goal was to ensure every teacher felt seen and valued, beyond the symbolic nature of a traditional Teachers’ Day celebration. “We wanted to highlight the lasting impact that teachers have not just on students, but on entire families and communities. Gifting these practical, locally made products and vouchers was a way to create a genuine moment of encouragement and gratitude,” Chin-Lyn said.

She noted that the warm, enthusiastic response from the Jamaica House Basic School team reinforced the value of community-centered outreach that honors local unsung heroes. “The teachers didn’t just appreciate the gifts — they appreciated that someone had taken the time to recognize their work. That reaction really speaks to how much these gestures mean,” Chin-Lyn added.

The event was captured with a photo of CB Foods representatives Moiya Chin-Lyn and Alexandra McNamee alongside Jamaica House Basic School principal Veronica Burnett, as Burnett accepted the school’s collective gift on behalf of the faculty. The Teachers’ Day initiative is part of a series of ongoing community engagement efforts by Pork Store & More by CB Foods, which aims to deepen ties with local neighborhoods and celebrate residents whose consistent dedication builds stronger Jamaican communities every day.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — At a recent launch event for the National Commercial Bank (NCB) Foundation’s 2026 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) national bursary programme, a student leader summed up the life-changing impact of the initiative for thousands of Jamaican learners. Oneish Shaw, deputy head boy of Tarrant High School, emphasized that for young people who once lived in uncertainty over whether their families could cover the cost of extra exam subjects, this financial support delivers both profound relief and powerful new motivation.

Shaw’s framing cuts to the core of what the programme delivers: access. For hundreds of low-income Jamaican students, CSEC exam fees have long acted as an arbitrary barrier to academic and professional advancement. Without financial support, capable learners are forced to cut back on the number of subjects they sit, limiting their future education and career options. The bursary eliminates this barrier, covering the cost of exams so students can take all the credits they need to progress.

In 2026, the NCB Foundation is scaling up its commitment to this work, earmarking a total of J$15.9 million to cover CSEC exam fees for 3,183 students across 36 Jamaican secondary schools. This marks a notable expansion from 2025, when the initiative served students at just 26 institutions. NCB Foundation leadership notes the expansion is an intentional response to rising unmet demand across the island, designed to extend opportunity to more deserving learners.

Perrin Gayle, chief executive officer of NCB Foundation, explained that the bursary programme targets a persistent, often overlooked barrier that holds back even the most capable Jamaican students. “Too many students are forced to make difficult choices about which subjects they can afford to sit. This programme ensures that more of them can complete their exams without that pressure and move forward with confidence,” Gayle said during the presentation ceremony.

To align the initiative with Jamaica’s long-term economic goals, the bursary programme prioritizes coverage for high-demand fields including information technology, business principles, and accounting principles. This strategic focus helps build a pipeline of skilled workers prepared to contribute to the country’s growing, technology-driven economy.

The programme operates in partnership with key Jamaican public sector institutions: the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information leads the process of identifying eligible students in need of support, while the Overseas Examinations Commission handles national exam administration. School leaders and classroom teachers were also recognized at the launch for their critical work guiding students through challenging subject material and helping them maximize the opportunity the bursary provides.

Shaw stressed that the impact of the investment extends far beyond the exam hall. “You aren’t just paying for exams; you are supporting the digital architects and business leaders of tomorrow,” he said. For the students served by the programme, the bursary does not just cover a fee—it transforms a future of limitation into one of full of possibility.

In response to the support, Shaw shared that students will honor the foundation’s investment through hard work: “We will honour this support by working hard, sitting our exams with pride, and contributing to Jamaica’s future.”

The 2026 CSEC bursary is just one part of NCB Foundation’s broader portfolio of education and community initiatives across Jamaica. The organization also runs an annual scholarship and grant programme, an adopt-a-school project, and other community-focused efforts. To date, the foundation has invested more than J$2 billion in education and community development across the country, working to expand access to opportunity, strengthen educational institutions, and build the systems that help all Jamaican students reach their potential.

Nearly two months after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, leaving a trail of destroyed infrastructure, upended communities and an estimated $12.2 billion in total economic damage, the Caribbean nation is still navigating the long, uneven process of recovery. Against this backdrop of ongoing reconstruction, leaders from Jamaica’s private sector, national disaster management agencies and leading media outlets came together last week at Kingston’s AC Marriott Hotel for the IMPACT Marketing Conference, where they pulled back the curtain on their post-storm response efforts and unpacked key lessons for building national and organizational resilience.

The high-profile panel discussion brought together four experienced stakeholders: Dianne Ashton-Smith, head of corporate affairs at leading Jamaican brewer Red Stripe; Chloleen Daley-Muschett, assistant vice president for public relations and corporate affairs at gaming and entertainment group Supreme Ventures; Arthur Hall, editor-at-large for the Jamaica Observer; and Commander Alvin Gayle, director general of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). Over the course of the conversation, the group explored what makes for effective disaster response, how private sector action can deliver tangible, meaningful support to affected communities, and why cross-sector collaboration is non-negotiable for long-term resilience.

Ashton-Smith outlined Red Stripe’s people-first response framework, explaining that the company’s immediate priority in the chaotic 72 hours after the storm passed was confirming the safety of all its employees and its key distribution partner, Celebration Brands. With critical communication infrastructure damaged and cellular networks down across large swathes of the country, the full safety check took multiple days to complete. She emphasized that while every organization should have pre-built crisis frameworks, no plan can ever be a step-by-step script for an unprecedented disaster. When systems fail and situations shift by the hour, decision-making has to be rooted in core organizational values and real-time on-the-ground judgment.

Only once every team member was accounted for and safe did Red Stripe shift its focus to external relief efforts, working in lockstep with ODPEM and local community partners to identify the hardest-hit regions and deliver the support that was actually needed, rather than deploying pre-planned assistance that might not match on-the-ground needs. For Ashton-Smith, corporate crisis responsibility is measured solely by the impact of action, not media visibility or brand recognition. “Responsibility and visibility are not mutually exclusive; people expect us to step up. But the real focus has to be on impact, what reaches people and makes a difference,” she said. She added that the company’s response was guided by its long-held values: a commitment to caring for all people, the courage to act quickly amid uncertainty, and a focus on addressing the real needs of local communities, rather than centering the company’s brand in relief messaging. She also stressed that meaningful crisis response is not a one-time effort: consistent, long-term support for recovery matters far more than a single high-profile donation immediately after the storm.

Daley-Muschett echoed the focus on internal prioritization and intentional action, sharing that Supreme Ventures’ first step after Hurricane Melissa was also checking in with its own staff and its network of more than 1,300 retail partners across the country. To avoid stretching resources too thin and ensure support reached vulnerable communities quickly, the company focused its relief efforts on distributing high-priority essentials – clean drinking water and non-perishable food – through its already existing retail network, cutting down on logistics delays that often slow disaster aid. She echoed the panel’s focus on authentic action over performative giving, noting that every donation and relief initiative was aligned with the company foundation’s core mission to serve Jamaican communities. “It’s important to be authentic, not performative. When you highlight the good you do, good follows,” she said.

Commander Gayle, the head of Jamaica’s national disaster preparedness agency, praised the widespread private sector support delivered after Hurricane Melissa but pushed for more intentional, long-term collaboration between the private sector and government disaster management bodies. He emphasized that building national resilience requires moving beyond immediate life-saving relief to strategic long-term recovery planning, a process that is greatly strengthened by private sector participation. He urged all Jamaican companies to coordinate their response efforts through the national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), where centralized information sharing allows for faster, more coordinated policy-level decisions that can speed up recovery across the country. “Private sector participation can greatly enhance national recovery efforts,” he noted.

By the end of the discussion, all panelists reached a clear consensus: effective crisis response requires authentic action, long-term commitment to recovery, proactive pre-disaster planning, and sustained cross-sector partnership. As Jamaica continues to rebuild from Hurricane Melissa’s devastation and prepares for the more intense, frequent storms that climate change is projected to bring to the Caribbean, the core message from the IMPACT Conference resonated: crisis management is not a one-off activity, it is an ongoing process of preparation, collaboration and adaptation. Only through coordinated action across the public, private and media sectors can Jamaica build a more resilient future for all its citizens.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – A shocking daylight mass shooting that left three people dead, including a two-year-old toddler, has sparked intense political backlash in Trinidad and Tobago, with former prime minister Stuart Young calling for the immediate resignation of two top cabinet members over the government’s failure to curb rising violent crime.

The deadly attack unfolded Thursday in Morvant, a suburban community on the outskirts of the capital Port of Spain, cutting short the lives of Anthony Wilson, Akil Kafi, and Kafi’s two-year-old son Akinni. A fourth victim, the toddler’s mother, survived the shooting and remains hospitalized for treatment. The violence comes just one month after an almost identical drive-by shooting in the same neighborhood left three more people dead, including 8-year-old J’layna Armstrong – an attack that already sparked nationwide outrage over unregulated gang and gun violence.

As of the latest updates, law enforcement officials say they have not found any conclusive evidence linking the two back-to-back mass shooting incidents in Morvant. Deputy Police Commissioner Suzette Martin, speaking to reporters on site shortly after the shooting, condemned the attack as an unforgivable, senseless tragedy that has sown fear across local communities and the entire nation.

“Four people were shot, three have died including an innocent child, and one is still receiving urgent care. This is a tragic and senseless act of violence,” Martin told reporters. She confirmed that specialized investigative teams have already been deployed to the area to pursue leads, though details remain under wraps at this sensitive stage of the probe. The country is currently under a national state of emergency implemented to curb a surge in gun-related crime, a measure Martin said police are actively leveraging to tackle widespread violent activity.

Amid ongoing public grief and anger, Martin urged residents to resist taking justice into their own hands, instead calling on anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and cooperate with investigators. “We want to assure the public that we are working diligently to solve this case. We will release more information as the investigation progresses,” she added.

Young, who serves as the parliamentary representative for the Morvant area and is a leader of the opposition, issued a scathing rebuke of the ruling Kamla Persad Bissessar administration in a public Facebook post following the shooting. He said he was furious, heartbroken, and deeply disturbed by the latest atrocity, noting that the attack was carried out in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood.

“It is clear that the Kamla Persad Bissessar government has no actual crime plan beyond relying on states of emergency, which we have long said cannot be a long-term solution to our national crime crisis,” Young wrote. He is demanding the immediate resignations of Defence Minister Wayne Sturge and Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, arguing that the persistent wave of deadly violence proves the government’s security leadership has failed. Young also condemned an un-named junior government minister for what he described as a recent racist rant targeting his Morvant constituents, calling the comment an added insult to injury for a community already reeling from repeated loss of life.

Closing his statement, Young offered sincere condolences to the families and friends of Akinni and the other two victims, urging residents to dismiss what he called the government’s “crass and heartless” comments. “I pray that God intervenes and blesses our nation of Trinidad and Tobago,” he wrote.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — At a post-Cabinet press conference held Wednesday at Jamaica House in St. Andrew, Jamaica’s Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Senator Dana Morris Dixon outlined comprehensive planned reforms to streamline the nation’s adoption system, addressing longstanding delays that have left hundreds of children waiting for permanent placements in loving family homes. Currently, the country’s aging Adoption Act creates procedural bottlenecks that prevent the system from processing placement requests at the pace demanded by the needs of children in state care, the minister explained. To resolve these issues, the government will pursue two key tracks of change: targeted amendments to national adoption legislation, and internal administrative restructuring within the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), the government body that oversees child welfare and placement services. Morris Dixon emphasized that while the reforms prioritize faster processing, they will also uphold rigorous protections to balance the legal rights of biological parents against the fundamental right of children to access safe, stable family environments. A core gap in Jamaica’s current child welfare framework that the reforms will address is the absence of a formal regulatory structure for foster care, a critical intermediate step in the placement process that currently operates without standardized national guidelines. To ensure the new legislation reflects broad public input and addresses stakeholder concerns, the government will convene a cross-party Joint Select Committee of Parliament to gather feedback from Jamaican communities and stakeholders across the child welfare sector. Officials are also exploring the option of consolidating all adoption and foster care regulations under the existing Child Care and Protection Act, creating a unified, streamlined legal umbrella that covers all forms of out-of-home care for children. “We know that the best possible outcome for any child in state care is placement in a permanent, loving family home,” Morris Dixon said, “It is our collective responsibility to remove unnecessary barriers and make this process as efficient as possible while upholding the highest standards of child protection.” The consolidated legislative framework, once drafted, will go through open public consultation via the Joint Select Committee, giving Jamaicans with an interest in child welfare an opportunity to weigh in on proposed changes before they are finalized for parliamentary approval.