'We're not going to take it anymore!'

JEAN LOWRIE-CHIN

Monday, July 05, 2010

IT is easy for opportunists to flourish in a country where quality education is still a scarce commodity for the poor. We are encouraged by the success of GSAT pupils this year, resulting from education reform started by the previous administration and continued by the current one. However, there are still too many illiterates and unskilled Jamaicans, their lives wasted by the gangsters who have been allowed to run riot over our country.

Over the past two weeks, I have been privileged to meet some sterling Jamaicans who have shored up my faith. I attended the Annual Ladies Lunch of the Royal Air Force Association, an organisation that was very dear to my dad's heart, and was pleased to meet the veterans and their lovely wives who continue the tradition of RAFA graciousness. Octogenarian Keith Levy, a member of the RAFA leadership, has kept Curphey Place in splendid condition and the organisation is preserving their glorious memory at a military museum being established at Up Park Camp.

A quick trip via Highway 2000 landed me at the Green Park Primary and Junior High in Clarendon where 2008 Principal of the Year O'Neil Ankle presides over his miraculous "academic hospital". The spirited Ankle congratulated his many graduates who had triumphed in the GSAT, surpassing the national average and scooping up places in traditional high schools. "Many parents used to pass Green Park and travel to May Pen with their children," he said. "Now they are on a waiting list to try to get their children in here."

This is because Ankle and his intrepid team have a "never say die" approach to every single child. As a junior high, they also get grade seven children who could not make it to high school. "I say to these parents, bring your children to me," declared O'Neil Ankle. "If their brain is sprained, we will fix it. If it is fractured, we will mend it. If it is missing, we will replace it!"

Ankle explained that his school had set up behavioural camps to reform wayward students, and intensive extra classes to bring them up to speed. He places a high emphasis on literacy and related the tearful gratitude of one of the parents. "She sat in my office and she wept!" he told us. "She said when she took her child here, he did not even know the alphabet and now he is reading the newspapers!"

O'Neil Ankle encourages his students to be productive and self-reliant. His school's agricultural projects have provided their canteen with 2865 lb of chicken meat over the past nine months, and have reaped such cash crops as scallion, thyme, beetroot and radish, as well as ornamental plants. In September, they will establish their fisheries unit. Green Park has the Champion Clarendon 4-H member, sparkling athletes and marching band. No wonder the school is being referred to as "the pride of the Education Ministry's Region Six".

Then it was on to Port Maria where the St Mary Parish Church was holding its annual fundraiser. Cooled by the sea breeze, we sat in the well-designed church hall and enjoyed a lovely evening of music and camaraderie. Occasions like these are like balm on my Kingston-battered soul, seeing responsible and successful Jamaicans dedicating themselves to their church and community in our beautiful townships. These fine folk of St Mary, led by Pastor Rev Charles Manderson and Custos Bobby Pottinger, are involved in youth and outreach programmes. Their beautiful church, which is a Heritage site, will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.

I spent an evening recently at the Obistan Kinder Prep where the school may be small, but the talent huge. In the Church of the Open Bible on Washington Boulevard, lovingly led by the visionary pastor Dr Alston Henry, we listened to the fine voices of children steeped in faith and supported by passionate teachers.

At both Green Park and Obistan, the schools nurture children in crisis. At Green Park, a bright youngster who had lost his mother a few months before was given a scholarship that would fund his books and fees at Glenmuir come September. At Obistan, the school embraced a child whose impoverished grandmother was valiantly raising her. There are teachers from humble communities - one who received thunderous applause lives in Drewsland off the Washington Boulevard.

Jamaica, we have to give these brave leaders and these ambitious children a chance to flourish. We have to give education the "full hundred" so that our people can no longer be enslaved by gangs. We each have to reach deep into our pockets and keep even one child in school. Jamaica, when we give that child a chance, we are giving our children good company for the future.

Karl Samuda has said he will no longer deal with dons. What about the other garrisons? There are approximately six JLP and 10 PNP garrisons - some say there are more for each. The silence is deafening from those representatives. Every citizen must spread the word about the representatives of these garrisons and make sure they never sit in Gordon House again if they do not quit dancing with the dons.

As taxpayers of Jamaica, we will have to be like our contractor general and research where our money is going. I maintain that in this land of sunshine we are not seriously looking at solar energy because there is no kick-back in it for anyone - the sun is just too free - not like petroleum or LNG. I heard of an incident last year where millions of dollars of free pharmaceuticals were being blocked by an official because there was no "pop-off" involved.

A reporter goes to a Jamaican display in the Far East and is told by the Jamaican in charge that she must contact Kingston to get her questions answered. An expensive tourism commercial featuring Usain Bolt is applauded and there is not one single tourist in the ad. Sorry guys, some of you are my friends but this is a huge missed opportunity - please do over the last scene and have a bunch of tourists on the beach doing "to the world!" with Usain.

We must stop congratulating each other for mediocrity. We owe it to the goodly folks at RAFA, at the St Mary Parish Church, at Green Park and Obistan. Do not take their faith and turn it into despair. Do not take their taxes and turn it into "jobs for the boys". As the hero in the movie Network shouted, "We're as mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore!"

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com

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COMMENTS (6)

Jacqueline Samms
7/6/2010

Tons of Jamaicans in the diaspora would like to come home, some have gained valuable skills while away that would be beneficial to this country but they're afraid to come back because of lack of security in the country.

Paul Gentles
7/5/2010

Thank you for dislaying the side of Ja that makes us a proud people,our resourcefulness and determination to achieve.
Crime is the major deterrent to us being prosperous as a nation.
Is it too much for our govts to create an atmosphere where fear is not such a tangible obstacle?
Put in place laws of impeachment and accountability,no longer can we allow leadership by "trust".
Well done to those you highlighted as positives.
Samuda's words are not good enough - lets see some action!

John Christian
7/5/2010

Food for thought...lets launch a mjor campaign against any MP from Garrison seats.

howie J
7/5/2010

There is a U.S. Company that makes it a point of their duty to hire at least one Jamaican Electrical Engineer every year. As far as I know they have never rejected a Jamaican applicant. They are so impressed with the work attitude of Jamaicans that most leave college and walk directly into a supervisory position. Some of these guys never wanted to stay in the U.S., but Jamaica turned them away. The arguments from Jamaica were, “if yu attend school in the U.S. whey you nu look work in the U.S.?”

Jaye Stone
7/5/2010

Are we mad enough? And what are we going to do about it?

Beresford Davidson
7/5/2010

When a people, especially Jamaicans decide to 'gitup offa dem ass,' anything is likely to happen.
When people anywhere becomes uncomfortable with government policies and laws they walk away. One doesn't need a great body of expert to decipher such natural trends since the birth of man. When “The tyranny of the majority,” is emboldening, both effulgent minority and majority members of a society take flight and thus leaving the emboldened ‘dunciards,’ majority to revel in their own claustrophobic stench and filth for a long time going nowhere. Remember Michael Manley, “five flights a day....?” Just figure out how Jamaica would’ve been today if all them bright Jamaicans did not leave for North America. Miami was pure concrete and poor overweight Americans back in the early 70s, now that city is bustling with excitement since the last thirty five years and it’s not because of good governance, because the south in the US has no concept of good governance other than cheap labour; it’s the quality of people from Jamaica and other societies outside of the US that embolden their community in the US. The reverse is on the rise though, mark my words.

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'We're not going to take it anymore!'