The Hon. Arnold J. Nicholson, QC, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade yesterday( Wednesday, January 13) handed over cheques representing funds collected by the Jamaican Embassy in Toronto, Canada, the Consulates General in New York and Miami, to the Coalition in Support of Adolescent Leadership Training (CSALT), the Pregnancy Resource Centre of Jamaica (PRCJ) and the Jamaica Association for the Deaf (JAD).
Minister Nicholson had explained to the representatives of the three charities that the Ministry, through its Missions was “acknowledging the contribution of the organizations to nation building.”
The JAD, now in its 77th year received a cheque for CD$1,300.00 – the sum collected at the annual Independence Church Service held in Toronto, Canada on August 2, 2015.
“On average, we identify approximately 100 new cases annually and islandwide, where the children are either diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing, this does not count the new adult cases, our mandate is not restricted to education, but also covers healthcare, as we give holistic support to these individuals and their families,” explains Dr. Iris Soutar, Executive Director, FAD.
For the St. Ann-based CSALT, which received US$1,521.00, from proceeds collected at the 11th Anniversary of the Jamaica Diaspora Day of Prayer and Fasting Church Service held in New York in August, 2015, and also US$635.50 from the Consulate General in Miami’s South Florida observation of the same anniversary, the funds will go toward furthering the mentorship programme pioneered by the institution’s Executive Director at Dr. Sydney McGill.
According to Dr. McGill, the programme which was originally tailored to allow for direct mentorship/mentee contact time has now been broadened to include contact time with the parents in a retreat setting, whereby parenting-best-practices are shared in a group setting, which includes Dr. McGhill, the parents and other stakeholders.
The Consulate General in New York had also donated US$1,521.00 to the Pregnancy Resource Centre of Jamaica in Montego Bay, St. James, which houses up to 9 wards at a time.
“The aim is to transition the centre into one of empowerment, so when the young mothers leave, they will have either their High school diploma, or HEART/TRUST/NTA certificate” says Ms. Christina Milford, the Centre’s Executive Director.
