14 Entities Awarded Grants for Community Development Projects

Fourteen organisations have been awarded grants totalling $28 million by the Digicel Foundation to undertake community development projects.

The support, under the Foundation’s Community Development grants programme, is part of the entity’s 18th anniversary celebrations.

Speaking to JIS News at a grant award ceremony held recently at Digicel’s head office, downtown Kingston, Chairman of the Foundation, Jean Lowrie-Chin, said that $2 million was provided to groups representing every parish.

These are for projects to improve educational institutions, upgrade community centres, develop agriculture,  and other community-based activities.

The groups were selected from a list of 245 applicants.

.“We tried to find some of the neediest causes and most dedicated community members, because there are lot of [persons] out there giving of their time and talent, even out of their own pockets, to build their communities,” she pointed out.

Mrs. Lowrie-Chin noted that the groups were chosen after a rigorous process to assess the management and soundness of the projects.

“Clearly, they are doing something very well. Their proposals, plans, personnel and leaders were excellent,” she said.

The Chairman told JIS News that the Foundation is “high on support” for special needs children, with a large portion of the approximately $6 billion granted by the entity since 2004 going towards such initiatives.

She said that the Community Development programme seeks to work with grassroots organisations to “build Jamaica together” by making real investments in communities through grant support.