The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) is urging all stakeholders involved in the post-Hurricane Melissa rebuilding process to ensure that buildings are redesigned and constructed to guarantee accessibility for all citizens, including persons with disabilities (PWDs). Executive Director, Dr. Christine Hendricks, emphasises that persons rebuilding should do so using the universal design principles. “It is just simply building...

The inaugural Artificial Intelligence (AI) Empowerment Workshop, held recently for more than 2,000 senior citizens, was hailed as a bold declaration that Jamaica’s older adults are preparing to step confidently into the digital era, with national institutions rallying to ensure inclusive support at every stage. The semi-virtual forum was hosted by the Broadcasting Commission, the Jamaica Library Service (JLS), the...

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has been undertaking a pilot of the digital platform Gov Payout, which will be used to facilitate payments under the $1-billion Solidarity Programme. “We have been doing the pilot for about three to four weeks. We've been able to amend and fix and revise and go through a lot of the testing where...

Over the years, the Overseas Employment Programme has been pivotal in strengthening the economies of both Jamaica and the United States of America (USA). It has provided vital financing support, allowing many Jamaican families to enhance their standard of living. The Jamaica Central Labour Organisation (JCLO) oversees the employment of Jamaican agricultural and hospitality workers in the USA. Established in...

For 89-year-old Irene Walter, learning has been a lifelong passion, so when the opportunity presented itself for her to participate in a Digital Literacy Programme for senior citizens, she did not hesitate to sign up. Eight weeks later, she emerged as one of the top performers in the Introduction to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) proficiency course taught by facilitators...

Defying gravity and age, Iris Duffus spent decades embracing her adventurous spirit, climbing trees until she was in her 90s. On several occasions in the last 15 years, when her grandchildren and great-grandchildren visited, Ms. Duffus told them that it was the last time they would see her, as she was going to die. The reply from one of her...

For the past three years, 31-year-old Felicia Bethune has been attending the St. Thomas-based Yallahs High School, where she stays from the start of classes to the end, not to learn but to “shadow” her daughter, Daejhanae Lumsden, who has special needs. She shares with JIS News that she realised “very early” that her daughter was not “doing things a...

The Abilities Foundation of Jamaica has been empowering persons with disabilities to create their own income, thus live satisfying lives. One such individual is 27-year-old José Allen, who is the owner of Powerful Stitches and TP Collection, a successful embroidery digitising graphic design business. Diagnosed with intellectual disability at age 12, Mr. Allen attended the Carberry Court Special School in...