JIS to Donate Heritage Material to Schools

The Jamaica Information Service's (JIS) annual Heritage Week activities get underway on Monday (Oct. 8), when a team from the agency will travel to the Job's Hill All-Age School in St. Mary, to present educational material and interact with students and staff.

Job's Hill is the first of 12 schools to be visited by the agency over the Heritage Week period, which is being observed nationally from October 7-13 under the theme: 'A Nation on a Mission, Our Heritage…The Foundation'.

The selected institutions, covering the parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover, Trelawny, St. Ann, Manchester and St. Andrew, will receive books, posters and DVDS on the National Heroes and National symbols.

The annual heritage package donations are part of the agency's corporate social responsibility and are geared at providing valuable information on Jamaica's rich history.

The JIS has, over the years, embarked on a number of initiatives aimed at positively impacting the lives of Jamaica's children, among which are the donation of educational material to schools, the annual Heritage Essay Competition, and the adoption of the Mount Olivet Boys' Home in Manchester.

The JIS also participates in career day activities, expositions, and facilitates tours of the agency’s offices by schools and youth groups.

The agency is accepting entries for its Heritage Essay Competition, targeted at primary and preparatory level students ages nine to 12.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence, the topic for the competition this year is: 'Fifty years later…Do we still need National Heroes?'

Essays should be emailed to heritageessay@jis.gov.jm by midnight on Friday, October 26.