The St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) in Santa Cruz has come to the aid of parents, who are facing financial hardship due to the effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, providing them with care packages containing food items. Some 50 families have so far benefited from the initiative, in particular those on the Programme of Advancement Through Health...

Drawing on the Jamaican sprit of resilience, many tourism workers and small operators affected by the downturn in the global sector due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are finding alternative means of making a living. Among them is Ocho Rios businessman, Michael Campbell, who says his family has been operating a craft shop at Dunn’s River Falls for more than...

Expectant teen Ann Buckley* is grateful for the care packages provided to beneficiaries of the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF), who are facing challenges due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The 15-year-old tells JIS News that she was made aware of the distribution by one of her classmates, and on Thursday (April 2), even though she had a maternity...

It has been about 167 years since Jamaican nurse, Mary Seacole, demonstrated acts of kindness to the sick and dying in the Crimean war in the mid-19th century. Now, the Mary Seacole Foundation (MSF) will be introducing programmes this year to honour and preserve her legacy. Initiatives being embarked on by the MSF, which was launched in August 1998, include...

The dreaded coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been wreaking havoc throughout the local economy, is testing the mettle of Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Shahine Robinson. In addition to her responsibility for the Ministry, which is the Government’s link between employers and workers, Mrs. Robinson is also the Member of Parliament for North East St. Ann, one of...

When Ricardo Allen declined his Fulbright Scholarship, little did he know he would be helping to further the educational development and achievement of thousands of secondary students across the Caribbean, by creating One on One Educational Services Limited. Since its inception in 2014, the company has provided e-learning assistance to more than 50,000 students across the region, even in the...

When Joe* took up a job opportunity to teach English in Zhejiang province in the People’s Republic of China, he never envisaged being at the epicentre of one of the most devastating global pandemics ever – the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Joe, who commenced the temporary teaching post in September 2019, had only been in China for five months when...

The Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) is implementing measures to stimulate economic activity as the country grapples with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The objective is to ensure that the economy can bounce back quickly once the worst has passed. President of JAMPRO, Diane Edwards, tells JIS News that focus is being placed on agriculture and agribusiness through, among other things, helping farmers to access new markets.  “We...

With a well-documented history of assistance to the island’s health and education sectors, the Issa Trust Foundation, under the leadership of Chairman, Paul Issa, and the patronage of Their Excellencies, the Most Hon. Sir Patrick and Lady Allen, has joined in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Foundation, the non-profit arm of Couples Resorts Jamaica, has donated US$238,000 (J$32...