标签： Jamaica

Last Friday, the sprawling green lawns of Devon House became a vibrant, story-filled gathering space as the Supreme Ventures Foundation (SVF) hosted its much-anticipated second annual Reading Picnic, a signature community event marking Jamaica’s Reading Week. For the second consecutive year, this initiative brought 120 seven to nine-year-old Grade 3 students from across Kingston and St Catherine together for a full day of immersive learning, literary exploration, and child-centered fun.

Participating students came from four local institutions: Waterford Primary School, Bridgeport Primary School, Melrose Primary & Junior High School, and John Mills Primary & Junior High School, all arriving ready to dive into a curated lineup of activities designed to reframe reading as an adventure rather than a chore. With experienced media personality Krystal Tomlinson at the helm as host, the entire event was built around a single core mission: nurturing a lifelong, lasting passion for reading among Jamaica’s younger generation.

The day’s schedule packed a diverse range of literacy-focused activities to suit every young learner’s interests. Traditional oral storytelling sessions drew quiet, focused groups of wide-eyed children, while interactive reading competitions brought out friendly excitement and energetic engagement. The most beloved session for many attendees was the dynamic ‘Act-it-Out’ segment, where children got to step into the roles of their favorite story characters and bring narratives to life through movement and performance.

The cultural highlight of the afternoon came from the acclaimed Ashe Company, which delivered a vibrant, dynamic reimagining of beloved traditional Anancy Stories, weaving Jamaican cultural heritage into the day’s literary programming. Chloleen Daley-Muschett, assistant vice-president for public relations and corporate affairs at Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL), shared that the children’s unscripted reactions to the day’s activities reinforced the value of this experiential approach to literacy promotion.

“The children’s reactions today were absolutely priceless,” Daley-Muschett noted. “Watching their eyes light up during the Anancy storytelling sessions, and seeing the sheer joy they brought to Act-it-Out, was a powerful reminder of what happens when you make reading an experience rather than an exercise.”

Beyond the planned activities, the event leaned on personal connection to inspire young readers, with more than a dozen members of the SVL leadership team stepping forward as volunteer guest readers to work directly with small groups of students. Senior leadership joining the effort included Heather Goldson, SVF director and SVL chief marketing officer; Stefan Miller, chief executive officer of SV Gaming; and Omar Dattadeen, assistant vice-president of marketing at SVL.

To add extra excitement for the young attendees, a lineup of prominent Jamaican public figures and SVL brand ambassadors also joined the literacy drive. Professional race car driver and JustBet Ambassador Fraser McConnell, Tishauna Mullings of NexxStepp Educational Services (named SVF 2025 Community Hero), and national team netballer Adean Thomas all spent time reading one-on-one with students and joining in the day’s interactive games, making the experience feel even more special for the children in attendance.

Goldson emphasized that the SVF Reading Picnic fills a critical role in supporting Jamaican children’s long-term success. “Literacy is the foundation upon which every Jamaican child’s future is built, and at Supreme Ventures Foundation, we believe that when a child falls in love with reading, we unlock a door to possibility that can never be closed,” she explained. “The SVF Reading Picnic was designed not just to promote literacy, but to show these children that reading can be an incredibly fun and interactive experience.”

By the time the event wrapped up, every student carried home more than just new favorite stories and warm memories of a day outdoors. Full from picnic refreshments and gifted custom goodie bags full of reading-related treats, the children departed after a day that successfully merged literary education with playful, interactive community engagement. The event once again demonstrated how experiential, community-led programming can deliver the critical message of literacy empowerment in a supportive, fun, and unforgettable environment that resonates with young learners.

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 — A major Caribbean banking institution has thrown its full weight behind a signature Mother’s Day charity initiative aimed at empowering vulnerable women across the island. Scotiabank, one of Jamaica’s longest-serving financial organizations, has secured the title sponsorship for the upcoming Run for Mom 5K, scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 10, and has contributed a JA$3 million donation to fund critical programs for teen mothers served by the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation.

The formal donation transfer was held earlier this week, with Scotiabank representatives handing over the ceremonial cheque to Dr. Lawrence Scott, a prominent cardiologist, director of the Heart and Vascular Centre, and the lead organizer of the annual Run for Mom 5K. Scott called the partnership a landmark milestone for the event, noting that months of collaborative discussions laid the groundwork for the agreement.

“Our conversations with Scotiabank around this initiative have been ongoing for quite some time,” Scott explained during the presentation ceremony. “Their leadership team has been deeply engaged from the start, because this cause aligns perfectly with their core mission of strengthening families, investing in local communities, and advancing national development. After completing their internal review and due diligence processes, they formally committed to serve as our title sponsor for this year’s race, and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

All funds raised through entry fees and sponsorships for the 2025 Run for Mom 5K will be distributed to three local healthcare and community organizations. The Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation, which supports teen pregnant people and young parents across Jamaica, is the event’s primary beneficiary. Two additional local healthcare facilities — Victoria Jubilee Hospital and Charles Chin Loy Health Centre — will receive a portion of the proceeds as co-beneficiaries to expand their maternal and public health services.

Novlet Howell, executive director of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation, shared her enthusiasm for the new partnership, highlighting Scotiabank’s decades-long track record of investing in gender equity and community development in Jamaica.

“Scotiabank is a globally recognized brand that has been rooted in Jamaica for generations, with a consistent record of backing women’s empowerment, girls’ education, and improved public health access across the country,” Howell said. “We are thrilled that our foundation will be the primary recipient of support from this sponsorship, alongside the contributions we’ll receive from other individual donors and community partners joining this year’s event. This investment will allow us to expand our critical services for teen moms, who often face systemic barriers to healthcare, education, and economic security.”

Organizers of the Run for Mom 5K note that the event not only raises critical funds for local maternal health and community support initiatives, but also encourages public physical activity to promote heart health, tying into Scott’s work as a leading cardiologist in the region. Registration for the May 10 race remains open to runners and walkers of all ages and ability levels across Jamaica.

A sudden overwhelming stench forced an abrupt temporary shutdown of the Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) King Street headquarters in downtown Kingston on Thursday, after staff walked off the job amid conflicting accounts of what caused the smell and how long hazardous conditions have plagued the building. TAJ communications leadership quickly framed the incident as an isolated problem triggered by a deceased animal, but frontline workers are pushing back against that narrative, saying the odor event is just the latest symptom of years of unaddressed, unsafe working conditions in the aging structure.

TAJ Director of Communications Merris Haughton confirmed to Jamaica Observer that initial reports pointed to a dead animal carcass as the source of the foul smell. Once employees began raising collective complaints about the irritating scent Thursday morning, agency leadership made the call to close the entire building to protect both staff and visiting members of the public until the source could be located and removed.

The building was cleared and reopened shortly before noon, with Haughton confirming the carcass had been taken away and the odor issue resolved, per the agency’s official account. But in interviews with the Observer before the facility reopened, disgruntled workers made clear this incident is far from an isolated one, listing a litany of long-unresolved problems that have turned their daily work environment into an unhealthy, unpleasant space.

One anonymous worker told reporters the aging building is effectively unfit for occupancy, and this stench incident is just the most recent in a long string of hazards. They noted staff have already dealt with repeated raw sewage backflow that pushes untreated waste up through ground-floor toilets, a dangerous issue that has gone without a permanent fix. The foul smell, the worker added, is far from the only problem staff have navigated for years.

Frontline cashiers, who work the ground floor where the odor was most concentrated on Thursday, are regularly forced to swat away large flies while handling customer transactions, the worker said. Additional issues include unaddressed plumbing leaks that send contaminated water dripping from upper-floor bathrooms onto people using facilities on lower levels, leaving staff uncertain what type of polluted water they are being exposed to.

A news team visiting the facility observed that the stench was strongest just outside the building entrance and across the ground-floor cashier area, with the odor becoming far less noticeable on upper floors. But an anonymous source close to the situation told the Observer that the odor is not contained to lower levels, noting it likely spreads through the building’s HVAC ductwork and plumbing systems. Workers also remain reluctant to speak publicly about the issues, the source added, fearing professional retaliation for being labeled an informer in local workplace culture.

Photographs and on-the-ground reporting Thursday morning showed dozens of employees gathered across the street from the closed tax office, seeking clean, fresh air after walking off the job to escape the overwhelming stench.

One employee explained to the Observer that while Thursday’s odor was unusually severe, persistent bad smells and other building issues have been a constant problem for staff. “It is not just the scent, if we are going to be honest…There is just a high odour today but there some other issues in the building, that’s probably where this is coming from,” the employee said.

Workers told the outlet that TAJ management has attempted small, piecemeal fixes to address the constant issues, but every partial repair just leads to a new problem emerging. Staff say the only permanent solution is relocating the entire office to a new facility, as the current downtown building is no longer fit for professional occupancy. “We need a new home because this one is not conducive to us,” one worker said.

A second employee confirmed that TAJ leadership is fully aware of the widespread problems that affect most of the office’s staff, and does listen to worker concerns, but no fix has ever resolved the core issues to staff’s satisfaction.

In response to worker claims about repeated sewage backflow through ground-floor toilets, Haughton said the agency would launch an investigation into those specific complaints. She also noted that widespread sewage backflow is a longstanding known issue across the entire downtown Kingston area, not just the TAJ building.