KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Recently appointed Junior Mayor for the Portmore Municipality, Sherissa Pinnock, is advocating for Jamaicans to invest more in health, wellness and herb gardening, which she believes will allow persons to live longer and healthier lives.

It is for this reason, Sherissa, a 15-year-old student of The Cedar Grove Academy, in Portmore, St Catherine, wants to start herb and wellness gardens in schools with some of the $500,000 funding she will get to undertake projects to uplift the Portmore Municipality as Junior Mayor.

“I believe it [herb gardening] will bring people together when they plant, to engage in agriculture and watch it flourish. I do agriculture at my school, so we learnt a little on that, and I plan to get some more experience and some more advice on how to do that,” Sherissa told JIS News, after calling on Prime Minister Andrew Holness, at Jamaica House, along with other junior mayors from across the island, recently.

The first two herb and wellness gardens she hopes to establish as junior mayor will be at her alma mater, Bridgeport Primary School; and her current school, The Cedar Grove Academy. “I also plan to paint the Bridgeport Primary School,” she said.

In addition to her plans for Bridgeport Primary, she is also exploring ways to assist in other areas.

Sherissa was born with the birth defect called Amelia (absence of one or more limbs), which affects her left arm. Despite this challenge, Sherissa is determined to achieve greatness. She told JIS News that persons who are born with Amelia are oftentimes discouraged from engaging in youth leadership positions, as they are teased; but she is not daunted.

Sherissa said her situation has encouraged her to achieve, just as others her age who are blessed with having both hands and all 10 fingers.

“Fortunately, I have never gone through any major setback in my life, apart from my arm. Other than that, I have been having a good life,” she said.

Sherissa said she is always supported by her parents, Wilbo and Jacqueline Pinnock, and her sister, Sahara Pinnock.

The junior mayor said her goal is to make a major difference in Portmore, and she strongly believes she has the ability to do so.

“I realise that I could influence a lot of people and a lot of my peers, and I heard about the project [of becoming junior mayor]. I thought that it would be a good idea, and I think it would really give me a lot of experience,” Sherissa told JIS News, as she gave her reason for applying to become the Junior Mayor of the Portmore Municipality.

Given the new perspective life has introduced to her from being appointed Junior Mayor, Sherissa, who is a grade-10 student on the verge of sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination, is a little uncertain of the career she intends to pursue.

“Nothing is set in stone… . I am looking at becoming an actuary or doing something in the economics field,” she said.

Sherissa was the top girl at her alma mater for the Grade Six Achievement Test [GSAT], and she is among the top performers at her current school.