Williams pays Holness courtesy call

World under-20 double sprint champion Briana Williams paid a visit to the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday. The meeting was to present printers to Prime Minister Andrew Holness for distribution to schools as Jamaica continues to navigate distance-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was another in a series of philanthropic efforts by the athlete who recently donated tablets to student athletes, and a printing system to the Jamaica Cancer Society, which prints large volumes of pap smears, mammograms, and testicular cancer screenings on a daily basis. Williams also conducted a Christmas treat in Montego Bay, St James, in December.

Williams, 18 years old, who is also the patron of the Sigma Sagicor Run 2021, was lauded by the prime minister for her charitable efforts.

Agents of Change

“I am happy that our young people are being agents of change and are willing to help build our great nation through service. Keep up the good work, Briana,” Holness wrote on his social media pages.

For Williams, this was an inspirational lift to meet the prime minister once again. Williams was awarded the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in sports in 2018, after her outstanding performances at the World Under-20 Championships and the Carifta Games, where she won the Austin Sealy Award.

“It was an honour to sit with him and he was just so encouraging and inspirational,” she said. “Just being able to speak to him about my training and my preparations was so uplifting for me. He also promised to match my donation by purchasing printers for distribution to more schools as well. I know that if each of us contributes in some way, we can help Jamaica recover stronger, so I’m just happy to play my part.”

Williams was accompanied by her manager Tanya Lee, and Dominique Walker, chief executive officer of Printware Online, who provided the printers.