PM Praises ‘Jamaican Spirit’ of the Sunshine Girls

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding told members of the national netball team, the Sunshine Girls, on Friday (January 15), that their greater cause for celebration is not their new home, The Sunshine Chalet, but their success as a team.
“It is the efforts that you have made, the courage that you have shown, and the joy that you have filled the hearts of so many Jamaicans with. You have challenged the best and demonstrated to them that you are among the greatest in the world,” Mr. Golding said.
He was speaking at the handing over of the keys to the home, which has been leased to the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) by the Government for 49 years.
Mr. Golding said the girls have demonstrated that they are among the best, despite challenging circumstances and limited resources.

Touring the grounds of The Sunshine Chalet, the new home for the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA), with Prime Minister Bruce Golding at Friday’s handing over of the house on Widcombe Road in Kingston are, from left: President of the JNA, Marva Bernard; Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Hon Olivia Grange; and Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA), Sonia Hamilton.

“This reflects, in my view, something that we must never underestimate; something about us in my view that has a value that we can never fully measure. It is that thing we call the Jamaican spirit.” the PM told the netballers.
Mr. Golding said he is convinced that the private sector will respond and give support to the JNA, so that the house will become a home and facilitate the kind of bonding that is critical to their success.
Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Hon Olivia Grange, said that the gesture is proof that the Government is standing with the netballers, and she pledged continued support.
President of the JNA, Marva Bernard, described the house as the best birthday present that the association could ever receive. The JNA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding, President of Jamaica Netball Association, Marva Bernard (centre), Minister of Youth, Sport and Culture, Hon Olivia Grange (left), view the interior of the new home for the Sunshine Girls in Kingston, following the handing over of the house on Widcombe Road on Friday (January 15).

She said that it will help netballers who live out of town, and will provide a place that they can be groomed and taught social graces. The JNA President added that a refurbishing fair is among several fundraising events being planned to fund the renovation process.
The Sunshine Chalet sits on land once a part of the Hope Estate, at 17 Widcombe Road, Kingston. The expenses to repair the house will be borne by the JNA and the property, when refurbished, will house the entire squad and its managers. The grounds are also suited for events of the JNA.