FROM a top-ranking member of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to corporate philanthropist, such is the story of Major General Robert Neish.

“It is a job where you are always helping others. We try to help communities grow and develop, to encourage capacity building and especially to focus on education, particularly literacy and numeracy,” said the 70-year-old, who currently heads the Digicel Foundation, noting that he is both excited and fulfilled by his work.

His duties at the foundation, Neish told Career & Education, include “operational, administrative and financial management and to carry out the decisions of the board” — tasks that continue to fuel his interest.

“It’s seeing the appreciation and gratitude in those (who) we’ve helped and seeing how it has helped to improve their lives and their overall well-being — whether an individual, a school or an entire community,” he said. “Last year, we completed a project with Dallas Castle where we refurbished their community centre. A few days ago, we got an update and a thank you from them on the various training activities that the centre has helped them to complete to date, in particular their beekeepers programme, which encourages entrepreneurship in the community.”

“Feedback like that is what inspires you to continue to touch as many lives as you possibly can,” added the man, who also headed the Mona Rehabilitation Foundation between 1996 and 2004.

“Bearing in mind my background in the JDF, the Mona (Rehabilitation Foundation) was a complete change. Not only was it a change from military to civilian, but they (also) had very little in the way of resources and manpower,” he said, comparing his experiences. “If it’s one thing you learn in the army is to be resourceful, so I was able to transfer and apply those (lessons) to this new chapter in my life.”

When the opportunity to make the move to Digicel came, he opted to take it. After all, it was a chance to help realise change with the benefit of additional resources and to be involved with building something from the ground up.

“I was very impressed with the concept that had been developed by the steering committee at Digicel for their foundation. So when they invited me to help get it started, I jumped at the opportunity,” said Neish, who was in 1968 awarded the Air Force Cross for bravery and given the national award Commander of the Order of Distinction in 1983.

Inherent in making the change were challenges, the most notable among them being the scope of work he was taking on.

“I was moving from a less well-funded organisation with a specific focus, to a bigger, more challenging and varied one with an islandwide reach and a clear mandate. However, with a very good structure and clearly communicated processes, the transition was not at all difficult,” said Neish, who is the married father of two sons.

At the same time, he explained that it had taken time to make the adjustment from military to civilian life — a transition with which his work at the Digicel Foundation has helped.

“After leaving the JDF, I went through the adjustment from military to civilian quite easily, but I missed the efficiency, energy, discipline and sense of urgency of the army. (However), what it meant was that I was able to transfer those to these jobs to help to create the needed structure to get the job done,” said Neish, who went directly into the army after leaving his alma mater Jamaica College.

“Entering civilian world after so many years, I also missed the ceremonial (aspect of our operations) and the excitement and so I found myself getting a little impatient at times. However, at Digicel I was pleasantly surprised to find very well motivated, keen young staff who really loved their work and went to great lengths to do their work well with the aim of touching and positively impacting lives,” added the man who was, between 1990 and 1996, a security consultant, manager for the Jamaica Society for Industrial Security and chair of the Bustamante Institute of Public and International Affairs.

As for whether he has found his calling, Neish said: “At school I was convinced that I wanted to be in the army. I made a full career of it serving for 32 years and going as far as I could go. However, Mona Rehab and Digicel gave me another chance to serve but in a different capacity. Working in a charity helping communities is very satisfying and allows me to relate to people at the community level in a positive and helpful way.”

At the same time, among the special skills he brings to his new role are “a sense of caring, a desire to help others, giving back and commitment to service”.

“From my previous experience I’m able to offer leadership, management and the ability to foresee and plan ahead,” he added.

Meanwhile, Neish — also the current president of the Royal Air Forces Association (Jamaica Branch), vice-president of the Jamaica Legion and board member of the Crime Stop — said that financial gain was not the primary motivation for doing his work, though he admitted to earning more now than he did at the Mona Rehabilitation Foundation.

“While salary is always a motivator, it is not the driving force in this case. Here, you are more focused on helping people and communities grow and develop, making a positive impact in their lives. And again, the appreciation that they show also inspires you to want to continue to help,” he said.

“People who work in charities are usually more motivated by the pleasure they get from helping others. So generally speaking, they don’t demand higher salaries. Also, charities want to spend most of their funds on their focus and not on administration and salaries,” Neish added.

His salary and level of satisfaction aside, Neish said there are other important benefits he has derived from his work with the two foundations.

“I hope I am more approachable and tolerant and, importantly, I recognise the issues from a different perspective. The problems that families and communities face are very real to them, but we now have an idea of the issues and priorities because of their requests to the foundation and because we continue to connect with them one-on-one in their communities,” he noted.

“So overall, from where I now sit, I recognise just how real these issues are and the collective effort needed from a national standpoint to help stem some of (the problems),” added the man, who, in 32 years with the JDF, served in the infantry, flew and held staff and command positions that culminated with his promotion to Chief of Staff with the rank of Major General.