Every Sunday, a humble dressmaker in St Elizabeth by the name of Ferguson takes two plates of dinner to her elderly neighbours. It is only after she assists them that she and her children sit down to eat. There are hundreds of church members throughout Jamaica who do this for others, including street people.

How could a country of so much caring have a crime problem? We hear the whisperings, because clearly those ragged ghetto gang members would not have the funds to buy the expensive semi-automatic weapons found on them.

Power, they say, is addictive and, like the coke addict whose family had to turn him out “because we could not keep a clock on the wall”, it seems there are political people who will go to extremes to keep their seats on councils and the House.

Call me Pollyanna, but I see enough good politicians on both sides of the fence who can spearhead a programme of compassion to cleanse politics of criminality. These positive parliamentarians and councillors will encourage their less inclined colleagues to work unceasingly for their constituents. Our good representatives will be the ones pounding the pavement, storming the talk shows and newsrooms to address dangerous infrastructural breakdown. They will discourage the creation of tenements by assisting citizens to apply for National Housing Trust benefits. They will have special days at their constituency offices for applications to Jamaica Drugs for the Elderly Programme and NI Gold.

They may also sponsor parenting seminars and offer awards to recognise responsible parents, especially fathers. And, in the area of education, they will have a scholarship week, so students can apply early to various organisations for assistance. We understand that there are some embassies which offer scholarships that are not taken up because of missed deadlines.

For the safety and security of our elders now terrified by criminal acts previously unknown in Jamaica, councillors and parliamentarians can form alliances with the police and churches to set up more neighbourhood watch groups. On a recent trip out of town we saw fewer neighbourhood watch signs than before. Are citizens afraid of being seen as ‘informers’? We are depending on our positive politicians to embolden good citizens.

The seniors organisation Caribbean Community of Retired Persons has negotiated with leading security firms Guardsman, KingAlarm and Hawkeye for discounts on security devices. Our representatives have even greater clout; they can swing deals for close circuit protection, partnering with business interests.

If our politicians need positive role models, they could look at their fellow public servants, our tireless police officers and nurses. There may be some corrupt officers but, overall, we see disciplined, hard-working police volunteering to run the largest youth club in Jamaica the Police Youth Club, with over 25,000 members, staging the annual torch run for Special Olympians, entertaining with their excellent choir and band, working long hours, and courageously standing between us and the criminal elements.

In the case of our nurses, we wonder how they carry themselves so impeccably, even on public transportation. They have chosen a tough career, which has them dealing close-up with the horrific injuries from violence and road crashes, and they stay focused despite the arduous hours of caring and comforting.

Politicians who pattern this positive behaviour will discover that fund-raising for campaigning will be easy, because the business community will want them in office. They will not have to buy votes because their constituents would work to keep them in office. Best of all, they would be respected for their integrity and sterling reputation.

Good politicians can no longer “see and blind, hear and deaf”. You hold the seat of power and must use it well to rebuild the moral base of our society.

Christmas fever

It’s a special kind of fever that we Jamaicans get, and Fae Ellington’s video on old-time Christmas is memorable. I have been receiving and sending it all widely. It describes the preparations, clearing of yards, white-washing fences and tree trunks, fattening up the Christmas fowl, jonkunnu, Christmas market, gift-giving. She even shares Christmas folk songs in her beautiful voice. Miss Fae, if you put that on YouTube, “yuh mus’ pass the royalty quota!” Do it!

As for me, Christmas means giving to celebrate the best gift of all time: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John: 3:16

As I wrote in my book, Souldance: “Make it a good Christmas, and spread the joy. The splashes of colour and the flashes of light are the exclamation points for the happiest message in the history of the world. The season’s gatherings and greetings promote Christ’s message of love and unity and the celebrations showcase the talents which he commanded us to multiply. A Christmas well spent transforms the water of an everyday existence into the wine of a rich memory, mellowing with age.”

Great friends of Jamaica

It was a pleasure to celebrate the season with outstanding diplomats, US Chargé d’Affaires Eric Khant and his wife, Spain’s Deputy Head of Mission Carmen Rives Ruiz-Tapiador, and newly appointed Nigerian High Commissioner to Jamaica Ambassador Janet Omoleegho Olisa. We are blessed in Jamaica that they so willingly share their culture and support the preservation of ours.

The deadline for the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation is Sunday, January 31. The grants range from US$200,000 to US$979,000. This is a great opportunity. Please go to the US Embassy website to learn more. The Spainish-Jamaica Foundation has also been promoting the teaching of Spanish, supporting the Alpha Institute and the Real Madrid Coaching Project in Montego Bay. The Nigerian High Commission share their culture in Africa Day celebrations at various schools, and various expositions. These representatives and their diplomatic colleagues open gateways for tertiary education, trade and economic relations. Jamaica is blessed to have such significant and constant support.

Congrats, Allison Peart!

EY Jamaica has announced that their country manager, Allison Peart, has been named a Fellow by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, recognising her career achievements to date with the profession’s highest mark of distinction. Fellows are outstanding members of the profession who, through their careers and community work, embody the designation’s high standards of professional excellence and integrity.

Her achievement was celebrated at a presentation ceremony and dinner hosted by CPA Ontario earlier this month in Toronto. A dynamic patriot, Allison Peart was recently elected president of the American Chamber of Commerce Jamaica, and is a past president of the Rotary Club of Downtown Kingston.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot. com