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  • Jamaican model serves raceday glamour in new campaign by British retailer Phase Eight

    Jamaican model serves raceday glamour in new campaign by British retailer Phase Eight

    British women’s fashion retailer Phase Eight has launched a highly anticipated new collaborative campaign with iconic British venue Goodwood Racecourse, gearing up for the 2026 horse racing season. Leading the campaign as its official face is Jamaican fashion model Tami Williams, represented by global modeling agency SAINT International.

    Shot by acclaimed fashion photographer Cristian Hunter, the campaign photoshoot took place at California’s legendary Santa Anita Racetrack earlier this year. Williams shares the spotlight with Dutch top model Julia Bergshoeff, as the pair showcases a curated line-up of race day-ready apparel and accessories tailored to Goodwood’s full racing calendar.

    The co-branded collection centers on versatile occasionwear, designed to fit everything from opening day outings to high-profile festival gatherings at the iconic venue. Garment options span flowing maxi dresses, tailored midi silhouettes and classic wrap styles, embellished with on-trend details ranging from delicate floral prints and timeless navy polka dots to gradient ombré pleating. Completing the looks is a full range of coordinated accessories, including elegant bow clutch bags, structured high block sandals, textured twist headbands and traditional fascinators that align with longstanding racing fashion traditions.

    In an exclusive interview with Observer Online, conducted while Williams was on location in Greece shooting an upcoming campaign for repeat client American retail brand Tuckernuck, the 25-year-old model opened up about the behind-the-scenes experience of the Phase Eight shoot. “We shot the Phase Eight campaign at the Santa Anita Racetrack in California in February,” Williams explained. “It was a really great day at the track, and it was especially interesting working with the horses. Their groomers were always on-set just off camera just in case they got too restless.”

    With 12 years of experience working across the global fashion industry already under her belt, Williams noted that the collaboration with Bergshoeff brought a joyful cross-cultural dynamic to the set. Per SAINT International, the two models bonded over exchanging stories and insights about their respective home cultures of Jamaica and the Netherlands during breaks in filming.

    For Goodwood Racecourse, the partnership marks another chapter in the venue’s centuries-long history. The Goodwood estate was originally purchased by the first Duke of Richmond, son of King Charles II, back in 1697, and the first public horse racing meet was hosted on the grounds in 1802. Today, the venue hosts a packed annual racing schedule that kicks off its 2025 season opening day on May 1, with additional major racing events scheduled across July, August and September, including the high-profile Qatar Goodwood Festival and the annual Autumn Racing series. Phase Eight holds the official title of Goodwood Races’ women’s wear partner for the 2025 season.

    Founded in 1979 by designer Patsy Seddon as a single small boutique on London’s Wandsworth Common, Phase Eight has grown dramatically into a global retail brand. It now operates 106 standalone stores and 207 in-store concessions across the United Kingdom, with an additional 18 standalone locations and 128 concessions spread across Switzerland, Germany, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Ireland.

    Williams is not the first SAINT International model to front a Phase Eight campaign: she follows in the footsteps of Martiniquan model Aurelie Giraud, who featured in the British brand’s Summer 2025 collection advertising campaign last year.

  • Caribbean hits 95 per cent childhood vaccination target

    Caribbean hits 95 per cent childhood vaccination target

    GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Public health leaders announced a landmark public health achievement for the Caribbean region over the weekend, with overall childhood vaccination coverage climbing to the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) 95% target, up three percentage points from 2022’s 92% rate. The milestone was unveiled during the official launch of Guyana and Caribbean Vaccination Week 2026 by Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director of PAHO.

    Dr. Sealey-Thomas emphasized that this breakthrough does not happen by accident: it is the direct outcome of long-term, consistent investment in regional public health infrastructure, unwavering political commitment to immunization priorities, and the tireless frontline work of healthcare workers across every Caribbean island and mainland territory. Several nations have already set a regional example, she noted, with Guyana, Montserrat, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines securing full 95%+ coverage across multiple categories of routine childhood immunizations.

    Despite the celebratory note of the announcement, Dr. Sealey-Thomas issued a urgent caution that retaining this hard-won progress will demand constant vigilance and ongoing commitment. “The progress we have made is meaningful, but much more remains to be done…Achieving and sustaining at least 95 per cent coverage for all antigens is essential,” she stated.

    The warning comes as the broader Americas region faces a growing public health threat: declining vaccination coverage in some areas has fueled a dramatic resurgence of measles, a highly contagious vaccine-preventable disease. PAHO data shows more than 15,000 confirmed measles cases were recorded in the first months of 2026 alone — a total that already exceeds the entire caseload reported across the region in 2025.

    This resurgence underscores four non-negotiable pillars of effective immunization programming, Dr. Sealey-Thomas explained: robust disease surveillance systems to track outbreaks early, sustained public confidence in vaccine safety and efficacy, equitable timely access to immunizations for all communities, and consistent long-term investment in immunization programming.

    Guyana’s Public Health Minister Frank Anthony echoed these remarks, sharing details of his nation’s successful strategy to maintain coverage above 95% for most routine vaccine antigens, even in hard-to-reach areas. To expand access to remote hinterland communities that have long faced barriers to healthcare, the Guyanese government has prioritized upgrading critical immunization infrastructure: investing in modern cold-chain storage facilities, solar-powered refrigeration units that work reliably in off-grid areas, improved cross-country vaccine transport networks, and specialized training for frontline healthcare workers delivering shots in isolated locations.

    Anthony stressed that infrastructure investment means nothing without tangible impact on community health. “It makes no sense if you have the vaccine and it is nicely stored in the fridge…You have to put it in somebody’s arm so that it can work to protect that person,” he said.

  • A century of gratitude

    A century of gratitude

    On a quiet Thursday in Kingston, Jamaica, 100-year-old Vera Green woke to mark a historic milestone few ever reach: her centennial birthday. Though a recent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis has left her movement limited and breathing labored, the soft-spoken centenarian says she feels nothing but gratitude for the century of life she has lived.

    “I can hardly catch my breath, so I mostly have to stay in one place, but I thank the Lord and I am quite satisfied,” Green shared in an interview with the Jamaica Observer during a home visit Thursday.

    Born as one half of a pair of twins in the rural community of Stanmore, St Elizabeth, Green and her brother Vivian were the youngest children of their working-class parents. From an early age, she showed a sharp curiosity and love for learning, enrolling at St Albans Primary and Infant School with a clear dream: to become a teacher. That ambition was cut short, however, when crippling family financial hardship forced her to leave schooling after sixth grade to help support her household.

    “I wasn’t backward in school; my head was very good and everything. I wanted to be a teacher, but my parents never had the means to support my studies,” Green reflected. “I made sure all my own children got an education, went to school, church, every opportunity, and they turned out well. If my parents had been able to help me pursue my goals, I know I would have achieved something great too.”

    After leaving primary school, Green took on casual day labor for local families, and later supplemented her income with small-scale farming, she said. Her granddaughter Lisa, who now helps care for her, shared that Green’s resourcefulness extended far beyond standard work — for decades, she served as an uncertified community midwife, helping dozens of local women deliver their babies at a time when the nearest hospital, Black River Hospital, was miles away and inaccessible for many rural families.

    “In the rural countryside back then, there weren’t formal career opportunities for women like her, so she took on whatever work she could do, from housekeeping to farm work that local community members hired her for,” Lisa explained. “What always stuck out was how she stepped up when people needed her. Any time a woman went into labor, people would come running for Vera, and she would go help deliver the baby — no questions asked.”

    Today, Green lives with COPD and hypertension, which has slowed her movement considerably, but she retains her sharpness and daily devotional routine. Remarkably, she still reads her Bible every day without needing prescription glasses, recites scripture daily, and maintains a steady practice of prayer, Lisa added.

    Even as Green embraces gratitude for reaching 100, she acknowledges that advanced age brings unignorable challenges. “When you get old, everything fades. You can’t take care of yourself the way you used to. If people don’t help me, if they don’t put what I need in my hand, I can’t get it for myself,” she said. “But still, I thank God, and I bless the people who take care of me.”

    Members of Green’s church community, the Kencot Seventh-day Adventist Church, gathered to celebrate her milestone this week. Christopher Johnson, leader of the congregation’s Seniors Ministry, who hails from the same St Elizabeth community as Green, said the centenarian is a beloved member of the church, and currently the only member of the congregation to reach the 100-year mark.

    “We are delighted to share this 100th birthday with her. It’s an extraordinary milestone,” Johnson said. “We have several other nonagenarian members, three women aged 97, 98 and 99, but Vera is our first centenarian. She is quiet but always active, incredibly warm and friendly to everyone she meets.”

  • WATCH: Barbados Reggae Weekend ‘Legends of Reggae’ show a testament to genre’s longevity

    WATCH: Barbados Reggae Weekend ‘Legends of Reggae’ show a testament to genre’s longevity

    BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — One of the most beloved annual Caribbean cultural celebrations kicked off Friday night at Bridgetown’s iconic Kensington Oval, where a star-studded roster of reggae’s most enduring trailblazers drew a capacity crowd to open Barbados Reggae Weekend 2026, affirming the genre’s unwavering global popularity decades after its rise to international acclaim.

    Titled the Mount Gay Legends of Reggae Show and Dance, the opening night event brought together iconic pioneers of the genre, including dancehall legend Super Cat, roots star Barrington Levy, vocalist JC Lodge, trailblazing deejay Sister Nancy, reggae artist Norris Man and fan favorite Biggie Irie. Local DJs rotated between pumping out classic reggae anthems and hyping the crowd between high-energy sets, keeping the energy high from the first act to the last.

    Weeks of anticipation preceded the event, which sold out well in advance, and attendees who spoke with local outlet Observer Online shared what drew them to the stadium Friday night. Local Bajan resident Ricky Don told reporters, “I am here tonight to have a good time…I don’t have a favourite, I love everything. I would encourage the whole world to visit Barbados.”

    Sharone, another attendee, shared that she never misses a reggae festival, and said she had been looking forward to Super Cat’s set for months. Dionne, a native of Jamaica’s May Pen Clarendon who relocated to Barbados in 1986, said she and her family have made an annual tradition out of attending the event, and she praised the lineup for delivering authentic Jamaican reggae. She named JC Lodge as her most anticipated performer of the night. For California native Theo, it is the unique atmosphere of the event that keeps him returning year after year. “It’s the vibe, the music and the artistes,” he explained of what draws him back to the festival.

    Thousands of attendees echoed that enthusiasm, packing the standing-room-only concourse and filling nearly every reserved seat in the stadium to capacity. The veteran performers delivered exactly what fans came for, starting with Biggie Irie, whose renowned smooth vocals opened the show. He took a moment mid-set to honor Stephen “Cat” Coore, the legendary reggae guitarist and founding member of Third World who passed away earlier this year.

    Sister Nancy, who broke barriers as a female deejay starting in the 1970s, brought her signature high energy to the stage, working the crowd with her classic deejay style before closing her set with her globally beloved mega-hit *Bam Bam*. Speaking to reporters after her performance, she reflected on her decades-long career and her enduring cross-generational popularity. “Young people always love Sister Nancy…I’ve been here since 1976…Don’t you hear what I say? Ain’t no stopping Nancy. I mean that,” she said.

    JC Lodge, whose decades-spanning hit *Someone Loves You, Honey* had the entire stadium singing along in unison, also addressed reggae’s lasting legacy across the globe. She acknowledged that while the genre has millions of dedicated fans worldwide, it faces growing barriers to mainstream exposure in many major markets. “For example, I live in the United Kingdom and years ago…it was played on mainstream channels in the UK, but now not so much. You might hear Bob Marley, Sean Paul, but not much else,” she explained. Lodge noted that reggae is increasingly boxed into niche ethnic music categories in mainstream media, making it far harder for contemporary reggae artists to break through to widespread audiences. Against that backdrop, she called Barbados Reggae Weekend a vital celebration of the genre. “I am happy that there are events like this that still push reggae because there are still reggae fans out there and they wanna hear it.”

    To the crowd’s delight, Lodge even peeled off layered outer pieces of her bright orange ensemble to reveal a pair of shorts for an energetic impromptu dance mid-set. Reflecting on the honor of performing on a stage dedicated to reggae’s legends, she added: “It’s great to be celebrated by fans, by the audience, because as an artiste, that’s what I am here for.”

    As the night stretched into early Saturday morning, sets from Barrington Levy and headliner Super Cat sent the already excited crowd into a frenzy. Even a light intermittent drizzle did nothing to dampen the mood, with diehard fans choosing to stay in their spots and embrace the light rain rather than miss a minute of the performances.

    After the final encore, attendees left the stadium glowing, with many praising the night as an instant classic. One young attendee summed up the general consensus, calling the lineup of veteran performers a “masterclass” in authentic reggae.

  • Peterkin calls for reopening of Maryland-Woodford main road after landslide

    Peterkin calls for reopening of Maryland-Woodford main road after landslide

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — When intense downpours swept across eastern Jamaica late Tuesday, the rainfall triggered dangerous landslides that shut down the critical primary highway connecting the communities of Maryland and Woodford. Days after the blockage, People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker candidate for the St Andrew East Rural constituency Patrick Peterkin is sounding the alarm, demanding the National Works Agency (NWA) move immediately to clear debris and reopen the impassable route.

    In an official public statement issued Saturday, Peterkin outlined the far-reaching fallout of the road closure, which has cut off access to multiple local communities including Happy Gate District, Cambridge, Woodford, and Free Town District. For thousands of residents in these areas, daily routines have been upended by the loss of the main thoroughfare. With the direct route blocked, locals are forced to detour through winding Norbrook Hill, a diversion that adds 30 to 45 minutes to every one-way commute. Beyond the lost time, transportation costs have jumped by at least 100 percent, piling new financial pressure on households already struggling with rising cost-of-living burdens across the island.

    “This outcome is completely unacceptable,” Peterkin emphasized. “Residents are already feeling the strain of this disruption, and they deserve immediate relief to restore their access to work, school, and essential services.”

    Beyond the urgent call for debris removal and road reopening, Peterkin stressed that national and local agencies need to adopt a more coordinated, rapid response framework for weather-related infrastructure failures. He argued that quick action is non-negotiable to restore normalcy and stability for the thousands of residents impacted by the closure.

    Most notably, Peterkin is pushing for permanent, long-term solutions to address the recurring cycle of landslides and road damage that plagues the hilly St Andrew East Rural region. He linked the increasing frequency of these weather-related disruptions to growing climate volatility, noting that Jamaica has seen more unpredictable and extreme rainfall patterns in recent years.

    “We cannot keep relying on a reactive, patchwork approach to this problem,” Peterkin said. “We need sustained, targeted investment in robust drainage networks, engineered slope stabilization, and climate-resilient infrastructure that can prevent these disruptive closures from becoming a repeated nightmare for local residents.”

    Peterkin closed by reassuring constituents that he would continue amplifying their concerns to national infrastructure agencies. He committed to both pushing for immediate action to reopen the blocked road and advocating for long-term interventions that protect resident access and livelihoods across the St Andrew East Rural constituency for years to come.

  • Dancing for their future

    Dancing for their future

    Jamaican-born educator Karen Francis has turned her decades-long commitment to youth development into action, completing a grueling 12-hour dance marathon at Trench Town’s iconic Culture Yard this Wednesday to raise $500,000 for a new youth entrepreneurship initiative tailored to the tight-knit community in St Andrew.

    The effort, designed to unlock the latent creative talent of Trench Town’s young people and turn that skill into sustainable, globally connected livelihoods, will breathe new life into a shuttered local reading centre, which will serve as the headquarters for the upcoming Trench Town Community 4-H Youth Entrepreneurship Programme. Alongside fundraising for the programme, the dance marathon also marked the official launch of the Founding Supporter Circle, an international outreach campaign that invites 500 donors across the globe to contribute $1,000 over one to two years to hit the $500,000 target. Interested backers can choose to sponsor individual segments of the marathon or make direct donations to the youth-focused project.

    In an interview with the Jamaica Observer on the day of her performance, Francis explained that the idea for the programme grew out of her observation that the unused reading centre – once supported by a sponsor that could no longer sustain funding – was leaving local children without access to a critical community learning space. Drawing on her years of experience organizing and leading 4-H clubs, she saw an opportunity to repurpose the space and leverage her own skills to uplift the neighborhood she holds close.

    The programme will equip participating young people with three core pillars of training: entrepreneurship basics, cultural arts skill-building, and business English instruction, all designed to help participants access and engage with international markets. Unlike traditional community aid models, the initiative focuses on empowering youth to build their own independent trade relationships, including connections with young creators and businesses across other African nations. Leveraging 4-H’s existing global network, the programme will help integrate Trench Town creators into an established circular economic ecosystem, turning untapped local talent into stable, long-term income.

    Francis, who now resides in the United States and has led youth-focused projects across the world, emphasized that Trench Town already boasts a vibrant informal local economy full of skilled creators – from seamstresses and garment makers to artisans – that just needs intentional structure to scale. “Anything that you need, they have here. This is what black economy looks like, and it just needs to be properly structured and organised,” she noted. Participants will learn to design, produce, and market a range of cultural goods for local and international sale, including handmade jewelry, crocheted goods, original paintings, pottery, and branded Trench Town merchandise.

    To enrich the programme’s training offerings, Francis has arranged for alumni from the U.S. State Department’s English Language Fellow Programme and other international exchange initiatives to join as mentors, guest instructors, and supporters. She stressed that fluency in standard English is a critical tool for global commerce, noting that while Jamaican patois – the primary daily language of most Trench Town residents – is a culturally rich and valuable part of local identity, the ability to code-switch between patois and standard English is essential for international trade. “It is important for all of us to be able to switch from patois and back into English. We need it to engage in trade, which is what all countries are pretty much engaged in,” she explained.

    Beyond economic empowerment, the initiative also seeks to reshape harmful public narratives about Trench Town. While the community is globally celebrated as the birthplace of reggae legends including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer, it has long been stigmatized due to past violent incidents, and many local young people lack access to structured entrepreneurial opportunities. Francis aims to rewrite that story by centering Trench Town’s youth and their creative work.

    The programme will position products made by participants to sell directly to tourists visiting the Culture Yard, moving beyond a handout model to a mutually beneficial exchange that helps youth recognize the inherent value of their work. “Rather than handouts, they are able to come and spend their money; we want them to see the value in their products. They are not begging; they assign the value to it and they exchange it that way so they learn the value of what they’re producing,” Francis said. This model, she added, will help young people build lasting personal pride and a stronger sense of connection to their community, laying the groundwork for long-term, community-led growth.

  • Niagara Falls to shine in Jamaican colours for SAWP 60th anniversary

    Niagara Falls to shine in Jamaican colours for SAWP 60th anniversary

    On a milestone marking six decades of cross-border labor collaboration between Canada and Jamaica, one of North America’s most iconic natural landmarks will take on a special symbolic meaning this Saturday. Niagara Falls will be bathed in the bold black, green, and gold of Jamaica’s national flag to honor the 60th anniversary of the Canada-Jamaica Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), an initiative that has shaped economic and diplomatic ties between the two nations since its launch in 1966.

    According to an official statement released by the Jamaican government, the celebratory illumination is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. Jamaica local time, which translates to 10:30 p.m. in Canada. This visual tribute is designed to draw public attention to the six decades of mutually beneficial partnership that the program has fostered. For those unable to travel to the Ontario landmark to view the display in person, the event will be accessible globally via continuous live webcams. Both the official Niagara Falls live feed and the Clifton Hill live cam, which captures the falls’ evening lighting and surrounding public activity, will stream the illumination. This setup ensures that Jamaican citizens on the island and members of the extensive Jamaican diaspora around the world can watch the historic tribute unfold in real time.

    The flag-colored lighting is just one component of a broad slate of commemorative activities organized to celebrate the program’s legacy. When SAWP first launched 60 years ago, it brought just 264 Jamaican agricultural workers to Canada to fill seasonal labor gaps. Today, the program has expanded dramatically, providing annual seasonal employment opportunities to more than 9,000 Jamaican workers, making it one of the most enduring cross-border labor initiatives in the Americas.
    Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles Jr., who is leading an official Jamaican delegation to Canada for the anniversary events, spoke to the deep value of the longstanding bilateral relationship. “The Government and people of Jamaica extend sincere appreciation to the Government and people of Canada for a partnership that has stood the test of time,” Charles said. “For 60 years, this relationship has nurtured opportunities, sustained livelihoods and strengthened the bonds between our nations.”
    He emphasized that the program’s impact extends far beyond formal diplomatic or economic statistics, writing it directly into the daily lives of Jamaican communities. “The impact of this programme is not distant or abstract. It is felt in homes across Jamaica. It is seen in children who are better provided for, in families that have found stability and in communities that have been built and sustained through hard work and sacrifice,” he added.
    Colette Roberts Risden, Permanent Secretary with oversight for Jamaica’s Overseas Employment Programme, outlined the structured operational framework that has allowed the program to thrive for six decades. “The strength of this programme lies in disciplined execution,” she explained. “We manage a full system, from recruitment and vetting to deployment and on-site oversight. Standards are enforced, performance is monitored and support structures are active in the field. That is how we protect our workers, maintain employer confidence and secure Jamaica’s position in a competitive global labour market.”
    Additional commemorative events are scheduled across Canada in the coming days. A celebratory church service will be held on April 26, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Canada local time at Cornerstone Community Church in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The full anniversary program, jointly led by Jamaica’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the Jamaican Liaison Service based in Canada, also includes a new scholarship fund for descendants of program participants, a feature-length documentary chronicling the SAWP’s 60-year history, a national day of recognition honoring agricultural workers, and community-focused events hosted in both Canada and Jamaica.
    During their visit, the Jamaican delegation — which includes Minister Charles and Permanent Secretary Roberts Risden — will take part in a series of industry meetings and commemorative engagements. The delegation is scheduled to meet with Canadian government officials, Canadian agricultural employers, and key sector stakeholders to discuss the future of the program and ongoing bilateral collaboration.

  • Allen calls for answers over conditions at Cornwall Regional Hospital

    Allen calls for answers over conditions at Cornwall Regional Hospital

    In St James, Jamaica, a senior opposition political figure has sounded the alarm over persistent dangerous shortcomings at one of western Jamaica’s largest public healthcare facilities, calling for immediate transparency and remedial action from the island’s public health leadership.

    Janice Allen, the People’s National Party (PNP) caretaker candidate for the St James Central constituency, labeled the ongoing crisis at Cornwall Regional Hospital a catastrophic systemic breakdown in a public statement released Saturday. The facility functions as a key regional medical hub, serving tens of thousands of residents across St James parish and the entire western corridor of Jamaica.

    Allen emphasized that the facility’s problems have festered for nearly a decade, with successive rounds of government promises to resolve the issues failing to deliver tangible improvements. At the core of the current disruption is an eight-year-long renovation project that has severely squeezed available capacity, upended routine medical services, and pushed both overstretched patients and under-resourced healthcare staff to their breaking point.

    The latest breaking point came following reports of a recent patient death, in which a local woman allegedly died waiting multiple days for care after hospital staff were unable to assign her an available inpatient bed. Allen stressed that if these allegations are confirmed, the tragedy is not merely an institutional failure—it is a profound moral failure on the part of the authorities tasked with protecting public health.

    She has issued a formal call for full clarification from three top health bodies: Jamaica’s chief medical officer, the national minister of health, and the Western Regional Health Authority. Allen is demanding clear answers on key details of the fatal incident: the exact length of the patient’s wait, what (if any) medical interventions she received before her death, and why no bed could be made available to her despite years of planned renovation work.

    Beyond the specific incident, Allen is pressing for public answers to broader longstanding questions about the facility: what is the current state of staffing shortages, what is the actual functional bed capacity at the hospital right now, how well can the facility’s emergency department respond to critical cases, and why have these problems remained unresolved long after the rehabilitation project was initiated?

    Allen closed by stating that the situation demands full transparency and urgent intervention from health leaders. She reiterated that the Jamaican public is owed meaningful improvement: better working conditions and support for frontline hospital staff, increased targeted resourcing to resolve capacity gaps, and tangible action to rebuild public trust in the national healthcare system.

  • Jamaica looks to US to secure more ambulances

    Jamaica looks to US to secure more ambulances

    Jamaica’s Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is actively advancing talks with the United States Embassy to secure a donation of new ambulances, a move aimed at closing critical gaps in the Caribbean nation’s emergency medical response infrastructure. The high-level discussion, held Thursday at the ministry’s Kingston headquarters, brought together Portfolio Minister Desmond McKenzie, US Embassy representatives, officials from the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), and members of the Board of Supervision to outline the scope of the proposed collaboration.

    McKenzie revealed that initial outreach to the US mission for ambulance support first began roughly two years ago, rooted in a long-recognized systemic gap in Jamaica’s emergency services. As the country’s lead first responder agency, the JFB currently lacks consistent access to ambulance services across all its emergency medical services (EMS) outposts, leaving many communities underserved during urgent medical events. The proposed US donation is designed to directly resolve this gap, ensuring that every response location can deliver seamless pre-hospital care to patients.

    Beyond the ambulance donation initiative, the conversation also covered plans to expand ambulance access through Jamaica’s national network of infirmaries. McKenzie noted that follow-up discussions will explore how the US Embassy can support efforts to upgrade equipment and expand operational capacity at infirmaries across the island, extending the reach of emergency care to more rural and underserved areas.

    Beyond infrastructure improvements, McKenzie emphasized that the ongoing dialogue underscores the deep, enduring bilateral ties between the two nations. He called the working partnership between the governments and peoples of Jamaica and the United States a highly valued friendship that continues to deliver tangible benefits to Jamaican communities.

  • Jamaican artisans to showcase craft at New Orleans Jazz Festival

    Jamaican artisans to showcase craft at New Orleans Jazz Festival

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — A pair of talented Jamaican craft creators from the Sandals Foundation’s Caribbean Artisan Collection Programme are gearing up to share their unique cultural work on an international stage at the 2025 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which will run from April 23 through May 3.

    A public statement released Saturday confirmed that Dana Baugh and Omar “Sheldon” Daley, both natives of Jamaica’s Westmoreland parish, will join a five-person Jamaican craft delegation hosted in the festival’s Cultural Exchange Pavilion. The showcase is co-sponsored by Sandals Resorts and the Jamaica Tourist Board, marking a special year for the event: organizers have selected Jamaica as the festival’s featured nation, shining a cross-cultural spotlight on the island’s iconic music, vibrant culinary traditions and distinct creative arts.

    Baugh, the creative mind behind BAUGHaus Design Studio, specializes in handcrafted porcelain tableware, decorative planters, and sculptural pieces that draw direct inspiration from the rhythms and details of daily Jamaican life. Per the release, all proceeds from sales of her work through the Sandals Foundation’s Caribbean Artisan Collection are funneled back into training and development programs for emerging local artisans across the region.

    “When audiences engage with my work at the festival, I want them to feel a version of the Caribbean that is both thoughtfully elevated and deeply rooted in our lived experience,” Baugh shared. “This opportunity isn’t just about selling products—it’s about showing the world that our story extends far beyond sun, sand and sea. It’s a rich, layered narrative that we express beautifully through the objects we make and use every single day.”

    For Daley, founder of FIRSTSTRAW Company, the invitation to the festival marks a full-circle milestone: he was one of the first artisans to join the Caribbean Artisan Programme back in 2018, when he received specialized product design and business development training from Sandals Resorts’ retail team. A third-generation thatch straw weaver who learned the craft from his mother, Daley’s work carries on traditional techniques rooted in Indigenous Taíno and African cultural heritage. He handcrafts a range of practical, decorative goods including woven bags, storage baskets and serving trays.

    “Even as traditional basketry has declined across the region, there are still dozens of artisans committed to keeping this ancient craft alive,” Daley explained. “This opportunity isn’t just a win for me—it represents all the people and all the forms of support that got me and so many other creators to this point.”

    The release also shed light on the significant barriers small Caribbean artisans often face, noting that Daley’s small production operation was severely disrupted by Hurricane Melissa, which damaged local infrastructure and cut off his reliable access to raw weaving materials. Targeted support from the Sandals Foundation, including the installation of an off-grid solar energy system for his workshop, helped him fully restore his production capacity within months.

    Heidi Clarke, Executive Director of the Sandals Foundation, emphasized that the artisan development initiative is rooted in long-term investment in people and local communities.

    “When we support artisans, we aren’t just preserving fading craft traditions—we are protecting livelihoods and strengthening entire local communities,” Clarke said. “We are incredibly honored to be part of Dana and Sheldon’s stories, and to watch them share their work with the world.”

    Since the program launched in 2018, the Caribbean Artisan Collection Programme has supported more than 30 independent creators across nine Caribbean islands where Sandals Resorts operates. Program data shows participants have seen a measurable expansion in production output and a steady increase in regional and international sales since joining the initiative.

    This year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is projected to draw roughly 500,000 attendees from across the United States and around the globe, making it a landmark opportunity for Jamaican creatives to access a much broader international consumer base. Beyond boosting sales, organizers frame the showcase as a critical step to passing down traditional craft knowledge and inspiration to the next generation of Caribbean creators.