Junior Achievement Jamaica changing lives
Published:Friday | August 2, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Seventeen-year-old Martin Jarrett of Charlemont High School in St Catherine says his life has been transformed by the Junior Achievement Jamaica (JAJ), which has reached some 10,000 students across the island annually.
"Not only has the business I have been involved in grown, but I have grown as an individual," Jarrett told a gathering of business operators at a corporate breakfast hosted by Caribbean Producers Jamaica (CPJ) last Wednesday morning in Montego Bay, St James.
The company, 'D-Buzz', formed by Jarrett and his classmates, and sponsored by Citibank, implemented special events at their school and produced and sold school supplies including pens, pencils, rulers and erasers.
"Among the lessons I have learnt are dedication, respect, honesty and confidence, and the importance of hard work, which are just a few of the values that this programme has instilled in me," said Martin.
His comments were cemented by JAJ chairman Bruce Bowen, who admitted that the programme, which got its kick-start from the United States Agency for International Development, now needs the private sector to take it over. "The Junior Achievement programme is trying to fill a void that is a particularly important one," stated Bowen, adding that the programme can really make a difference in the leadership challenges that the country faces.
The JAJ chairman used the platform to sensitise and entice western Jamaica businesses to partner with the project to prepare Jamaican youth for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it.
"They are also provided with the skill sets on how to create jobs, which makes their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace," Bowen told Today.
JAJ's success rate has become so renowned, it is being used as a 'poster child'. Board member and head of Insurance Company of the West Indies Paul Lalor swears by the transparency that the organisation boasts.
"It's the only charity that I know is capable of telling me how every cent that I have invested has been spent," stated Lalor, who gave a testimonial at the breakfast.
In his welcome remarks, host Mark Hart, CPJ executive chairman, expressed his company's commitment to the growth of the programme in the west.
Hart said, "Developing our youth is critical to the future of Jamaica, and the JAJ is focused on developing our youth as futureleaders. We at CPJ support initiatives that drive sustainability for the growth of youth in Jamaica."
Hart belaboured the point that, "We cannot keep waiting for the next generation to take us out of the challenges we have. We have to help them to transform the world."
The JAJ is not only seeking financial backing as companies, their executives and staff may volunteer to spend time in the classroom, empowering the country's youth to own their economic success.