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In its bid to contribute to the development of a more financially literate country, the JN Group, through the JN Foundation, has successfully devised and implemented an enabling programme to help Jamaicans achieve financial security.

The Financial Empowerment programme, which is in its second year, aims to teach the core principles of money management and to expose participants to the tools necessary in their quest to improve their financial status, stability and independence.

Officially launched in 2015, the empowerment programme’s genesis is linked to the theory that saving and investment play a pivotal role in empowering individuals as well as for the enhancement of the country’s economy.

Led by Rose Miller, project manager for financial literacy at the JN Foundation, the presentations are prepared and delivered to adults and children in an interactive manner.

“We have targeted students, because we recognise the importance of ensuring that our children are financially smart from an early stage. And we reinforce the importance of not only making wise financial choices and effectively managing money, but also the necessity of taking responsibility for their financial education. Practical ways in which each person can work towards their financial goals and the rewards to be gained are also emphasised throughout the programme,” Miller said.

Concomitantly, Jamaica National maintains a dynamic School Savers Programme, which operates in over 200 primary and high schools across the country. Students are offered saving incentives; and, annually three primary school students, one from each county, are offered five-year scholarships to high schools, based on the results of the Grade Six Achievement Test.

To date, more than 2,000 students have gained from these sessions, which have been delivered in schools and to sundry groups across the island. And- the reception of the students has been encouraging.

“Students are genuinely interested in improving their financial education and learning how to budget and start saving,” Miller highlighted. “And they are keen about achieving short- and medium-term goals, including amassing funds for things deemed important.”

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20160427/jn-foundation-drives-financial-literacy

With more than 40 participating high schools across the island, the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA) Junior Club programme is aiming to build on the lessons learned since its inception in September 2013.

The clubs’ objective is to increase the level of road-safety awareness and inspire improved road-use behaviour among high school students across the island.

Carey Lue-Pann, JAA Junior Club project manager, said that through “the intervention of members of the clubs in schools across Jamaica, numerous road- safety initiatives and projects of varying types have been undertaken”.

“The students, along with their faculty advisers, have been instrumental in carrying out projects that have enhanced road safety for persons in the wider communities,” he said. Lue-Pann noted that “Some projects have resulted in sidewalks and bus stops being improved, while other interventions have helped to raise road- safety awareness.”

JAA Junior Clubs are an initiative of the JAA, in collaboration with the Jamaica National Building Society Foundation, JN General Insurance Company (JNGI), the Ministry of Education, the FIA Foundation, and the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme.

Throughout the school year, club members benefit from activities implemented to provide exposure to various aspects of the motorsport and automotive industries.

Lue-Pann said, “Regular field trips are a key part of the experience to sensitise our students to the important link between motor vehicle care and road safety, while highlighting the diverse employment opportunities that are available within motorsport.”

For 2016, these initiatives are expected to continue, while efforts are made to generate new life into clubs across the island. “As a priority, we are still seeking to establish new clubs in schools across Jamaica, especially those located in areas with high levels of road crashes,” he explained.

Special attention will also be paid to key road-safety issues which have emerged, including motorcycle safety, learner drivers and the new Road Traffic Act.

Lue-Pann further stated that in keeping with the programme’s technology focus, several social-media based outreach activities will be launched this year to engage members of JAA Junior Clubs and the public.

“In the past, we have used social-media channels to initiate conversations about road safety by encouraging our members to conceptualise content that would contribute to raising awareness. We plan to continue to expand those initiatives in 2016,” Lue-Pann said.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/auto/20160424/jaa-junior-clubs-road-2013

Following the successful generation of revenues to the tune of $37 million, the USAID in partnership with JN Foundation is hoping to provide training to another 15 social enterprises under its Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI).

The three-year-old programme – which is currently processing applications for its second staging – seeks to assist in the development and technical capacity-building of existing and potential enterprises and individuals that are committed to the development and sustainability of the social and economic well-being of communities, groups and individuals.

So far, a total of 10 social enterprises, including Caribbean Community for Retired Persons (CCRP), Mustard Seed Communities, Dress for Success, Network of Women for Food Security, and Superior Crafts and More have benefited from US$1 million ($113 million) worth of technical and business development support under SEBI.

USAID has since pumped additional funds into the programme allowing it to be extended for another two years. Through this extension, 15 additional social entrepreneurs and social enterprises will be able to benefit from the combined training, consultation and partnership development provided to the SEBI incubator participants.

SEBI Pioneers’ improved management and marketing skills have enhanced each participant’s operations which generated in excess of $37 million in revenue; created 15 new market-ready products and services; as well as employed approximately 130 community members.

The venture therefore continues to play a critical role in the development of the sector.

“Through SEBI, USAID and the JN Foundation have started the process of integrating the social enterprise business model into the psyche and practices of local entrepreneurs and members of the social sector,” stated general manager of JN Foundation, Saffrey Brown.

“However, we acknowledge that more support is needed at this stage, if social enterprises are to engender the change and social impact that they promise. The supplementary funding from USAID has extended the life of the project and gives us the opportunity to build on what we started; as well as to reorient our efforts to achieve greater traction and progress within the projected time frame,” she continued.

SEBI defines social enterprises as profit-making businesses which exist to address social needs such as unemployment, mental illness or environmental degradation. Social entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are business persons who establish enterprises intended to solve social problems and effect social change.

In selecting the candidates, greater emphasis will be placed on solution-based start-ups, enterprises that have developed market-ready products and services, and have positive track records for sales.

Within the ensuing months, SEBI will place equal focus on the provision of resources and support to the wider social enterprise network. This will be achieved through a series of initiatives such as the hosting of rap sessions and the 2017 SEBI Summit, an event geared at showcasing the work of the participants.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/USAID-extends-Social-Enterprise-Boost-Initiative_58255

The Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) Foundation and the University of Birmingham have opened the admission process for the 2016/17 University of Birmingham and Jamaica National Foundation Legacy Scholarship. The scholarship, which is in its final year, will see one Jamaican student being accepted to study for a one year master’s degree in a business related field at the United Kingdom (UK)-based institution, beginning in September 2016.

The scholarship provides a unique opportunity for an outstanding Jamaican student to be a part of a university community which offers education that is academically challenging; and, above all, transformative. Should the awardee demonstrate outstanding ability in a particular sport, special assistance may also be provided for athletic development and training.

The first Legacy Scholarship awardee, Chris-Ann Thomas (2014-15), is the proud holder of a master’s degree with distinction from the University of Birmingham, placing first in her Masters programme. Lavois Cruickshank, the scholar for 2015-2016, is currently studying for the MSc Financial Economics.

Saffrey Brown, general manager at the JNBS Foundation, noted that as the Legacy scholarship enters its final year, the programme has already created an impactful legacy that has and will continue to result in the exchange and application of first world standards into the local work arena by beneficiaries of the scholarship, who have been exposed to aspects of business in an international setting.

PROVIDING OPPORTUNITY

“Providing scholarships of this calibre for Jamaican students is important as it provides an opportunity for the best students to study overseas, develop global networks and contribute to introducing emerging ideas in the local market,” said Brown.

The Legacy Scholarship Programme, which is endorsed by the Governor General Sir Patrick Allen through his ‘I Believe Initiative’, is awarded annually to one Jamaican tertiary graduate during the three-year period, 2014 -2016.

The Legacy Scholarship is open to students who have successfully matriculated to study for a master of science degree at the University of Birmingham’s Business School by April 29, 2016.

The University of Birmingham is consistently ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions, with approximately 32,000 students, and is one of the most popular universities for postgraduate study in the UK. The University of Birmingham was named The Times and The Sunday Times University of the Year for Graduate Employment 2015/16.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20160406/jn-opens-legacy-scholarship-application-process

Joan Spencer-Ernandez, lecturer in Special Education at the School of Education, The University of the West Indies, has called for teachers to ‘step up their game’ and be better prepared for the mixed ability classroom where students have diverse needs.
She was speaking recently at a Professional Development Day exercise for teachers from the Buff Bay and Port Maria Primary Schools, participants in the JN Foundation’s iLead educational leadership programme. The three-year initiative is being conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Education and is targeted to improve student outcomes at five schools in eastern parishes during year one of the programme.
The workshop provided teachers with practical tips and strategies to improve literacy.
Mrs. Spencer-Ernandez, who is also a consultant to the iLead programme, expressed concern that many teachers were still employing a ‘one size fits all’ approach in the classroom and do not plan for students who may be ahead or behind the class average.

“The curriculum provided is intended as a guide,” she explained, “and lessons must be adjusted to meet varying ability levels.”
She also urged teachers to be creative in their approach to improving literacy levels, and not rely only on prescribed texts for their lessons. Using material already available in the classroom, she demonstrated to the more than 50 participants how different levels of comprehension questions could be set from posters showing mathematical shapes and from food labels.

“I do not subscribe to the usual defence that resources are insufficient. Grade one or grade five reading material can be used in the grade four classroom if that is what the student’s reading level requires,” she advised.

In a follow-up interview, Mrs. Spencer-Ernandez spoke about the need for teacher training institutions to better equip teachers to meet the needs of a diverse population of students, and advocated for the support of the Ministry of Education in establishing new courses in Literacy and Numeracy strategies in that regard.
She also pointed to the need for parents to work in tandem with the school by supporting teachers’ assessments of the literacy needs of their children; and the provision of different textbooks, if the teacher has determined that those would better support their children’s needs.

“The school environment is really about everyone achieving his or her full potential,” she concluded.
Dr Renee Rattray, director of education projects at JN Foundation who oversees the iLead programme, also underscored the need for teachers to plan for the diversities that exist in their classrooms.
“A doctor does not write the same prescription for all of his patients; and, in my experience as an educator, students who are appropriately assessed, stimulated and nurtured produce exciting results,” she said.
The director of education projects further revealed, “We have already seen improvements in behaviour stemming from the change management programmes we have started, and we are confident that these will translate into many areas of progress in these schools.”