HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CREATE ALLIANCES WITH CANADIANS—03/07/15
Students from Islington High School in St. Mary are participating in an innovative communications project that involves connecting with students in St. Thomas More Catholic School in Toronto, Canada. The students are discussing their countries and cultures via the Internet with online video chat session on Skype. Dr. Nadine Wong, a psychiatrist in Toronto, is head of Alabaster Gates, a charity that hosted the Internet conversations across Jamaica in March 2015. The project is design to enhance awareness of global issues and develop a forum where students in Jamaica can interact with their counterparts in other countries.
JAMAICAN NAMED MEMBER OF WORLD BANK PANEL FOR DIVERSITY—03/08/15
The World Bank is creating an External Advisory Panel for Diversity and Inclusion. The six members of the panel include Dr. Richard Bernal of Jamaica. Bernal is a former ambassador to the United States from Jamaica. The panel is designed to facilitate communications and connections between the World Bank and the global community.
UK HIGH COMMISSION HONORS WOMEN OF JAMAICA—03/09/15
A tribute to four outstanding women of Jamaica was given by Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, Jamaica’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, in honor of International Women’s Day of March 4, 2015. The women honored included Mavis Stewart, founding member of the Association of Jamaicans UK Trust; Dame Karlene Davis, who previously held the position of General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives; Beverly Johnson, businesswoman and entrepreneur from Birmingham; and the Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who is the Chaplin to Her Majesty the Queen and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
NO CONCLUSION ABOUT CAUSE OF DEATH OF JAMAICAN SPRINTER—03/10/15
The cause of death of Sabrina Cammock, a Jamaican-born Syracuse University student and athlete, has not yet been determined. Cammock, 21, was found dead at the Edison Hotel in Times Square, New York. Police in New York have ruled out any foul play, but investigations are continuing in the case. Cammock had a promising career as an athlete, according to Irwine Clare, Sr., founder of Team Jamaica Bickle. She was on Spring Break with some friends from Syracuse at the time of her death. She was born in Watt Town, St. Ann, in Jamaica.
DISC JOCKEY PLANS TO REACH DiASPORA VIA NEW RADIO PROGRAM—03/11/15
Felisha Loud, a 32-year-old disc jockey, is planning to connect with the Jamaican Diaspora through her new position as the host of Reggae Soul Experience on the CarbMixx Radio station. Loud was formerly working at Irie Jam Radio, which features reggae and Caribbean content. According to Loud, the focus of the new show is to reach new generations of Jamaica by playing R&B, with a concentration on R&B/reggae mix. Loud traveled to the United States at the age of 16, but returned to Jamaica and worked for the Nationwide News Network.
SIMPSON MILLER WANTS JAMAICANS IN BAHAMAS TO “LEGITIMIZE”—03/12/15
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller is urging Jamaicans living in the Bahamas to make sure that they are working and living there legitimately. Her call for “legitimizing” the status of Jamaicans in the Diaspora in the Bahamas follows the introduction of new immigration rules imposed by the Bahamian Government. These laws went into effect in November 2014. The Prime Minister said that Jamaica is monitoring the changes in the law as well.
JAMAICAN GIRL IN NEW YORK GETS LIFE-SAVING SURGERY—03/13/15
Amanda Carter, who is eight years old, had a serious heart defect involving a hole between her aorta and pulmonary artery, which threatened her life and made it impossible for her to take part in the usual childhood activities. A physician at Bustamante Children’s Hospital in Kingston recommended to her parents that they contact the Gift of Life Program at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island, and ultimately, Amanda and her mother Maria Sterling traveled to that hospital where the hole in her heat was repaired by Dr. Sean Levchuck on March 4, 2015.
U.S. GENERAL KELLY SAYS CARIBBEAN NATIONALS RECRUITED TO FIGHT IN SYRIA—03/13/15
A top Marine General in the United States, John Kelly, informed the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee that some 100 individuals from Caribbean nations have gone to Syria to fight alongside Islamic extremists in Syria. Kelly reported that extremist groups and Iran are actively recruiting potential militants in Trinidad, Suriname, Venezuela, and Jamaica. He is particularly concerned about what these individuals may do when they return to their home countries.
