Jamaican Diaspora having major impact on country with Day of Service

Rowen A. Johnson
Jul 28, 2017 · 3 min read

Published: Thursday | July 27 2017

The Diaspora Day of Service came to a close today with some 30 community service and humanitarian projects being executed across Kingston and St. Andrew as well as rural communities. The projects were geared towards areas such as Youth Development, Education, Health and Immigration Consultation, and saw approximately 153 members of the Jamaican Diaspora, hailing from the US, UK, and as far away as the Middle East being actively involved in the projects.

Pictured from left to right: Attorneys-At-Law Ms. Simone Williams; Mr. Shannon Baruch and Ms. Joan Pinnock

One highlight of the Kingston projects was the Consultation Workshop for Involuntary Returning Residents which was held on the grounds of the University of Technology, Jamaica. The workshop was organized by The Immigration and Deportation Prevention Task Force by Diaspora living in the USA, and was geared at facilitating discussions between attorneys from the United States and those individuals involuntarily removed from the US to determine their eligibility to return.

A participant at the workshop in consultation with Attorneys-At-Law Simone Williams and Shannon Baruch

The panelists consisted of Attorneys-At-Law Ms. Simone Williams, Mr. Shannon Baruch and Ms. Joan Pinnock who had a combined 50 years of legal experience among them. Participants at the workshop shared their heart wrenching stories of serving long sentences behind bars for minor offences, and being subsequently removed from a place where they had raised families, built careers, and fostered relationships across numerous communities. In addition to legal consultancy, the attorneys offered well needed words of motivation and strength, to the dejected faces scattered across the room. Participants were encouraged to maintain confidence in themselves and their abilities, and to still, strive for success.

Members of the UK Jamaica Diaspora Crime Intervention & Prevention Task Force leaving the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre

Another highlight of the Diaspora Day of Service was the Jamaica Prison In Reach Project which was organized by the UK Jamaica Diaspora Crime Intervention & Prevention Task Force. They visited the Tower Street and South Camp Road Adult Correctional Facilities, in order to interact with and offer encouragement to prisoners so as to improve their emotional well-being.

Members of the contingent listened to the prisoner’s varying experiences, keen on understanding the social and cultural contexts that led them down the path that culminated with them serving time behind bars. Visitors offered their sincere support, and left them with words of guidance with hopes of dissuading them from travelling the same road they have done before. The project was implemented with the assistance of Operation Save Jamaica, with some 40 prisoners being impacted by these efforts.

Pictured from left to right: Phillip Llewellyn; Shakeem Lewin; Douglas Havens, Lecturer Loma Linda University; Prof. Rosalea Hamilton, Vice President Community Service and Development, UTech, Ja and Javon Campbell.

The Jamaica Middle East Diaspora also turned out to participate in the Day of Service activities, hosting an education workshop that sought to show teachers how robotics can be used as a tool to aid students in understanding the Math Curriculum especially at the CSEC level. Given the record of below par performance of our students in the subject area, new learning approaches should be encouraged as it is a concern that could have deleterious effects on our efforts to realize both social and economic growth. The workshop, which was held at the Jamaica Teacher’s Association Church Street Headquarters was aided by the Calabar Robotics team comprised of students Javon Campbell, Shakeem Lewin and Phillip Llewellyn and garnered interest from international presenters drawn to the teaching method being proposed.

For all the work that is being done by local institutions, the Diaspora Day of Service does underscore how important a role, our countrymen living overseas can play in the betterment of our island. It is critical therefore that these activities are encouraged, and continued measures be sought to extend exceedingly the reach that these acts of patriotism can have.

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