Persons gathered inside the Apostolic Church of Jamaica’s Bethel Temple in Kingston rose to their feet in applause at the end of seven-year-old Andrae Forrester’s valedictory speech during the Early Stimulant Programme (ESP) 2023 graduation ceremony on Tuesday (July 18). The youngster, who was born with cerebral palsy, delivered an inspiring presentation on behalf of his peers, in which he...

In times of disaster, whether man-made or natural, the Humanitarian Assistance Committee (HAC) is there to help alleviate human suffering and protect the lives, livelihoods, and dignity of vulnerable persons. The Committee is part of the country’s National Disaster Risk Management Council and is led by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. It responds to the needs of people...

The Government recognises the importance of facilitating and providing assistance to senior citizens, by establishing various programmes and services to meet their needs. One such initiative is the establishment and enablement of senior citizens' clubs across the island that provide opportunities for socialisation and recreation as well as access to essential services and resources. This is well demonstrated in the...

At the busy Miami airport, 15 years ago, Collin Rumble was about to board a return flight to Jamaica after a challenging first season on the H2A Labour Programme, when he decided to assist an older gentleman who was struggling with his luggage. Little did the Clarendon native know at the time, that the encounter would lead him to a...

At the busy Miami airport, 15 years ago, Collin Rumble was about to board a return flight to Jamaica after a challenging first season on the H2A Labour Programme, when he decided to assist an older gentleman who was struggling with his luggage. Little did the Clarendon native know at the time, that the encounter would lead him to a...

A Jamaican participating in the seasonal agricultural workers programme in Canada is encouraging local farmers to improve their agronomic methods and suggests several ways this can be done. JIS News met John Kent* on an apple orchard in rural Ontario on October 15, while accompanying a Jamaican team of fact-finders who are probing the workers’ status. Mr. Kent is a...

Alongside the 80 to 85 per cent of Jamaican returnees on Canada’s seasonal agricultural workers programme are newcomers who, each year, seize the opportunity to participate in the decades-old engagement. One such is St. Catherine’s Mark Grant*, who works on one of the largest apple farms in Ontario.   Mr. Grant is a transferee from a neighboring peach and nectarine...

If the image of farmers on bended knees, manually tending to crops, comes to mind when thinking about the Canadian seasonal agricultural workers programme, then it might come as a surprise that the reality is it is largely mechanically driven. For the most part, Jamaican workers on the farms which JIS News has so far visited while accompanying a team...

Among the thousands of Jamaicans, who leave the island every year for Canada to participate in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Programme, is a large group of women, who are holding their own alongside their male counterparts. They are employed on properties, such as a 2,500-acre apple farm in the Simcoe, Ontario area, where they are picking and packing the fruit....