Lawyer and Entrepreneur Empowering Teachers and Students

Hailing from the parish of Portland, Paulette Trowers carved out her own path, one that intertwined her passion for law and business and her unwavering commitment to her homeland’s development.

Armed with a Juris Doctor degree and a heart brimming with compassion, she can easily be defined as a ‘force of nature’.

As she journeyed through life, she could not shake the memories of her upbringing in Jamaica where she witnessed the stark contrast between privilege and scarcity.

With the ethos that “charity begins at home”, Ms. Trowers embarked on a mission that would redefine her purpose.

Fueled by a desire to make a tangible difference, she founded CHEETAH Toys and More, LLC, not merely as a business venture but as a conduit for change in 2017.

“My goal is to empower students and educators with the tools they need to succeed, regardless of their circumstances,” she said, while participating in a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on April 16.

Ms. Trowers also understood that education was and is the key to empowerment as well as to unlocking endless possibilities for the next generation.

So, with her company as the cornerstone, she orchestrated a symphony of philanthropy, directing resources towards education and community development.

Marrying both her philanthropic and educational contribution efforts, every endeavour stands as a testament to her unwavering dedication.

Ms. Trowers shares that recently, “we were in the Rio Grande Valley where I came from. We were also in Comfort Castle where a group of about four surrounding schools came together, and we went through our products. We introduced them to the new tools that we have, and it was such a rewarding experience. Students were also there with us preparing for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams”.

Time away from community development is spent working closely with the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) to develop innovative and interactive educational tools to enhance learning opportunities and promote academic achievement.

Over the years, the CHEETAH team, along with several key stakeholders, have published several workbooks for students sitting the PEP examinations, formerly known as the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).

For the educational aspect of CHEETAH, several PEP workbooks that cater to the five core areas for grade-six students have been published. These are Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and Mental Ability.

“We are proud to say that all our books have been reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Education and Youth. We were also one of the very first companies to produce these PEP workbooks for the Ministry,” Ms. Trowers said.

The company also initiated the Jamaica Decodable Early Readers (JAMDER) tool, a book series that currently has a total of 78 books to stimulate reading among young children.

Similar to this is the ‘Little Jamaican Early Childhood Learning Kit’, which was launched in 2022.

The kit has more than 30 books, poems, puzzles, posters, reward stickers, completion certificates, playing and flash cards, and animation.

The resources include concepts such as colours, shapes, numbers, letters, phonics, animals, and related short stories. It targets children zero to three years old, parents, guardians and teachers.

On the technological side, Ms. Trowers informs that the company is working on digitising its content, so that it is more accessible to children across the world.

This is being done through collaboration with the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), which is providing funding support for the project.

Citing the company’s most recent technological development, Ms. Trowers told JIS News that a new PEP application and a smart educational AI-powered tool that will advance the way young children learn and interact with technology has been launched.

“We are now incorporating the latest cutting-edge technology to enhance interactive learning,” she said.

The company’s accomplishments are proof of the meaning behind its name – Connect to Higher Education Electronic Tools Application and Health (CHEETAH).

Ms. Trowers said: “When we talk about ‘connect’ to higher education, we’re talking about levelling up and improving your skills.”

As the company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ms. Trowers said she tries “to live a meaningful and purposeful life”, attributing her successes to “my Creator who has given me so many resources and a company that I own and control”.

“I’m happy to be contributing to a society, a community and a country that has given me so much. I’m glad to be positively impacting the children,” she added.