11-year-old Ngozi Wright, who made history in 2019 for being one of the youngest to address the Jamaican Parliament, is among the winners at this year’s Jamaica Customer Service Competition. Wright, alongside fellow top recipients Rajae Smith and Jevaughn Barnaby, was presented with trophies and monetary prizes at the awards ceremony held on Friday, October 20, 2023. The Jamaica Customer Service Competition has, for the past three years, encouraged young people from across the island to tap into their creative skills and promote the importance of service excellence.
The awardees are N’Gozi Wright of Jessie Ripoll Primary School, the winner of the primary category (front row); Rajae Smith of St. George’s College, the winner of the secondary category (back row, second from the left); and Jevaughn Barnaby of Heart NSTA Trust, who won the tertiary category award (back row, third from the left).
This year’s competition, organized jointly by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and the Jamaica Customer Service Association (JaCSA), was held under the theme ‘The Power of Service Excellence in Building Trust in a Digital World.‘ It formed part of the activities to commemorate the 2023 National Customer Service Week, held from Sunday, October 1, 2023, to Saturday, October 7, 2023.
“I love being a part of JCDC Competitions because they are competitive. I love to write, and I love to win. This competition is another opportunity for me to write, so when I saw the flyer on social media, I showed it to my father, and he encouraged me to enter,” said Ngozi, sharing her thoughts after receiving the cash prize of twenty thousand dollars. Her father, Omall Wright, more popularly known as the dub poet ‘Majah Bless,’ and her twin brother, Tafari, were in attendance, cheering her on.
Mrs. Avory Crooks-Campbell, Music Development Specialist at the JCDC and an Executive member of the JaCSA, explained that unlike previous years when the competition took the format of a song contest, this year’s participants were tasked with using poetry as the means of expression. The competition entry levels were also expanded to include representatives from primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions.
“We had a song competition in the past, but this year we added a twist. We introduced a poetry contest that gave students the opportunity to explore their creativity in the area of poetry. The JCDC and JaCSA are always looking for ways to engage the younger generations, so this year, we decided to select winners from primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions,” she said.
She further noted that entries were judged on originality/creativity, delivery of the customer service message, use of imagery and literary devices, and overall expressiveness.
Ngozi, who attends the Jessie Ripoll Primary School, copped the top prize in the primary category for her entry ‘We deserve it.’ Rajae Smith from St. George’s College won the secondary category with his entry, “In the Digital Real: Trust Forged Through Service Excellence,” while the winner at the tertiary level was Jevaughn Barnaby, from Heart Trust NTA, with his entry, ‘Building Trust in a Digital World’.
