Finance State Minister Welcomes Foundation Launch

Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has hailed the launch of the Sanmerna Foundation Limited, which aims to improve the lives of the youth and the elderly in inner city communities through initiatives in education, health and sports.

Mr. Spencer said the Government welcomes interventions aimed at assisting the most vulnerable in the society. “I think this foundation is of tremendous importance,” he said.

He was speaking on Wednesday (April 6) at the press launch of the Foundation at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Regional Headquarters at Hermitage Road,
St. Andrew.

Chairman of the Foundation, Viris Clarke-Ellis, said that a secondary focus of the non-profit organisation is to collect and distribute donations of food, clothing, and financial resources to persons in need.

“The foundation will form partnerships with schools and with juvenile facilities, but the main goal of the foundation is to foster a sense of responsibility and commitment to those persons that it will serve,” Mrs. Clarke-Ellis said.

Japan’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Masanori Nakano, who addressed the launch ceremony, expressed the hope that the foundation will grow “from strength to strength” and support nation building in Jamaica.

He noted that the mission of the foundation is in keeping with the human security aspect of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) initiative.

“In implementing our ODA programmes, the Government of Japan has put emphasis on providing funding, for example under the Grassroots Human Security Programme, mainly centred on education, health, emergency response (and) youth activities,” Mr. Nakano said.

“As we focus on human security, we believe no one should be left out from the development process and every individual should be included, protected and empowered to achieve inclusive growth and sustainable development,” he added.