Several micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) have answered the Government’s call to provide innovative solutions in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) by producing protective face masks. Technical Services Manager, Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), Colin Porter, tells JIS News the Corporation has been working with its MSME clients to produce face masks using the recommended health and safety specifications....

As the world grapples with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Government recently engaged children and youth in a special digital town hall meeting to address their questions and concerns. To support their participation in the event, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) solicited questions through its social messaging tool, ‘U-Report’, which is used to learn more about the views...

Elderly persons are being encouraged to protect and maintain their health, as the country continues to fight the Coronavirus (COVID-19). An article published by the World Health Organization (WHO) says that although all age groups are at risk of contracting COVID-19, older people face significant risks of developing severe illnesses if they contract the disease, due to physiological changes that...

With many parents balancing working from home and home-schooling their children, due to measures to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), some are overwhelmed by this temporary 'new normal'. Enter the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC), which has established 36 helplines across the island to aid parents as they grapple with the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic. The...

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...

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...