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For two decades Rebel Salute, the Caribbean’s largest Reggae festival, has laid down a foundation of cultural celebration and consciousness. Forged around the principles of no meat and no alcohol, the event has brought together hundreds of thousands of patrons from all over the world. Over 20 years of exposing various generations to the fundamentals as well as the evolutions within reggae music, we have provided an education in Jamaican culture and music that has helped buttress the burgeoning conscious movement we are witnessing today. In terms of health, music, cultural expression and retention- Rebel Salute has laid the groundwork for the outreach programs we now undertake under the banner of the Rebel Salute Foundation.

It is our distinct pleasure to announce the inaugural Rebel Salute Foundation- Teach the Children Scholarship to two very special individuals from Marcus Garvey Technical High School, an institution in our adopted parish of St. Ann, named after a man whose principles we hold dear and not far from our new home in priory where we will be staging the 21st staging of Rebel Salute on January 17 & 18 2014.

Kezia Williams(13) and Jevaughn Smith(13) both receive scholarship cheques of $60,000. The disbursement will cover auxiliary fees, lunch as well as transportation for the academic year. This scholarship is renewable each year until the students have completed their 5th form graduation, on the condition that their academic performance and discipline remains outstanding and exemplary to their peers.

Foundation origins
The decision to form a foundation was more of a move to officially formalize what was already being done. Tony Rebel has been heavily involved in several local communities throughout his career as a promoter and recording artiste. He, along with the Rebel Salute team have always taken the initiative to support persons and institutions in need and over the years have donated to various causes including persons seeking medical treatment and providing schools with much needed equipment.

Making reference to the bible proverb, it has always been the Rebel way to adhere to the principle contained in this quote when pursuing philanthropic endeavours:
” …so that your giving be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly “. St. Matthew 6:4

However, as the younger generation of the Rebel Salute movement we felt it was time to organize and structure our efforts so as to improve the reach, impact and scope of what had been an ad-hoc process in the past. As such our very first award of the Teach the Children Scholarship represent the flagship program of the officially registered Rebel Salute Foundation. We hope other like-minded individuals or organizations will recognize this move and get behind the cause as well.

Additional scholarship recipients will be added to the program from the outgoing 7th grade cohort based on the selection criteria which includes: doing well academically and showing discipline and diligence in pursuit of education, as well as demonstrating a willingness to aide Jamaican cultural advancement.

It is the Rebel Salute Foundation’s intention to again increase the scope of how we aide cultural expression in Jamaica-Our goal, is ultimately to provide young Jamaicans with music training opportunities both locally and internationally; in addition to donating musical equipment to schools and other needy communities where they may be of benefit.

Please join the Rebel Salute Foundation’s salute to the recipients of the inaugural Teach the Children Scholarship award 2013! Kezia Williams and Jevaughn Smith of the Marcus Garvey Technical High School.