After witnessing the devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl on St Elizabeth, 19-year-old Joshua Newsome, a 2024 NCB Foundation national scholarship recipient, proposed a solution to Jamaica's water problems: solar-powered water pumps. Newsome, who will pursue a degree in electrical and computer engineering at UTech, envisions a future where water stations operate independently of the electrical grid, ensuring continuous water supply even during outages. His innovative idea earned him a $700,000 scholarship, which he plans to use to make his dream for Jamaica a reality.

NCB Foundation scholar driven to improve Jamaica’s water systems

Jamaica Gleaner/17 Aug 2024/Ainsworth Morris/Staff Reporter 

AFTER HURRICANE Beryl ransacked the parish of St Elizabeth and left citizens without electricity and water for weeks, the idea of creating solar water pumps at each National Water Commission location islandwide became more pronounced in the mind of Joshua Newsome, one of the two NCB Foundation national scholarship recipients for 2024.

When the 19-year-old former student of St Elizabeth Technical High School recently met with NCB Foundation judges to advocate for his selection as one of the national scholarship recipients for $700,000 out of the 14 parish champions, this idea was his key argument, and one he does not regret using.

“Hurricane Beryl really pushed that [idea] and made me realise that goal more clearly. After the hurricane, we were without water for about three weeks and you can only live without water for two weeks, so if the water stations could operate independently of JPS, everyone would still have water even without current,” Newsome told The Gleaner on Wednesday at the AC Hotel Kingston, following the announcement that he was one of the two national scholarship recipients for 2024.

“I want to improve the water systems in Jamaica, so all water pumps and water stations can act independently in Jamaica,” he said.

Newsome shared that he has considered multiple ways to implement this, primarily through solar technology, and is determined to make his dream for the nation a reality.

He will be pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Technology come September.

The son of farmers from the ‘breadbasket parish ’, Newsome chose that degree because, after researching careers in grade nine, it stood out to him as a local option he wanted to pursue. “I want to become an electrical engineer because I love electricity. I love the thought of being able to create things and innovate. I love technology,” Newsome said, adding, “I’m elated. I’m actually surprised with the national champions [award].”

Newsome was awarded eight distinctions in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects: mathematics, English language, information technology, electrical technology, technical drawing, chemistry, physics and principles of business.

After achieving excellent grades, Newsome was introduced to the NCB Foundation scholarship application by his friend Rahim McDaniel. Newsome is now grateful for this introduction, as his parents could not afford to send him to UTech, and Hurricane Beryl further strained their finances.

“My parents, they’re farmers, and they work really hard and I have two siblings. Things have been challenging. I actually skipped a couple days of school, because we couldn’t afford it. [The hurricane] destroyed a lot of things. It slowed down a lot of processes. For the plants, right now, we’re not reaping as much to finance ourselves as we would like to,” he said.

Newsome shared that he believes all the hard work he put in at secondary school made him reap the fruits of his labour.

“As my parents always tell me, ‘Work before play and it [will] pay off ‘. The working before playing actually pays off when you work towards the goal, and I’ve worked hard for this,” he said.

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