ROBERT White, managing director of Sanmerna Paper Products and director of the Sanmerna Foundation, is elated and beyond grateful to be bestowed with the Order of Distinction (OD) for his philanthropy and contributions to Jamaica’s health sector and inner-city communities.

White’s motivation to always look out for people comes from memories of how poor he was as a boy.

“When I attended Balmagie Primary School, whenever it rained, I was always upset because my shoes bottom had a hole in it. The cardboard I used to cover the hole would get wet. I had to take off the shoes and carry it in my hand. That was something I will never forget,” White said in an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer.

His upbringing was tough, but White has no regrets. He is originally from Belrock in Olympic Gardens, St Andrew. At the age of five, he relocated to Waterhouse. He said he always had dreams of becoming a businessman.

“When everybody else was playing, I used milk boxes to build replicas of factories and delivery trucks,” he said.

When he was 12 years old, he started working with a company called Testron.

“I would go to work in the mornings and then go to school. Working was good for me and my family. My bosses at Testron Jamaica Limited assured that if I [did well at Pembroke Hall Secondary] there wouldn’t be a job for me there, so I ensured that I went to school and did my best.”

White recalled using the stipend he received from Testron to start an ice cream business.

“People knew me as creamy. One of my biggest customers was at King Jammy in Waterhouse. He used to buy 10 to 15 ice cream and give away to the artistes and his workers. That pushed me to expand my business. I got another cart until I ended up with four carts. I hired three people at around age 15.”

His aunt petitioned for him, his mother and brother to live in the United States (US) in 1989. In the US, his first job was in housekeeping at the Howard Johnson Hotel in New Jersey, where he alone was responsible for cleaning 21 rooms. He received another job at the Pennsylvania Court, where he would “dust down the judge’s desk and clean the court house”. White’s third job was at a warehouse that sold paint and hardware items.

One day he decided to phone his old boss at the Testron International headquarters and was encouraged to fly to Atlanta.

“I got the job right away. I packed bottles in boxes and filled out my orders. I rented a room beside a sewage plant. It was very smelly but I didn’t care. Eventually I got somewhere decent to rent and I sent for my mother and brother. I worked at that factory for seven years before I started my own business in Jamaica in 1993, called Sanmerna Sales Limited. I sold chemicals and lubricants,” White said.

His brother Mark suggested that both of them venture into the paper business, which has proven to be a treasure trove.

“We started off with six employees and now we have 115. The company has received several awards such as an entrepreneurship award from the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce in 2010, among many others. April will make 20 years since our company has been in Jamaica. We have touched many lives and our presence is felt in most people’s houses and through our humanitarian work. There is a lot I do that I don’t talk about. I have done so much. I have helped so many.

“My service is the rent that I pay to live on earth. I want to mention my wife, Kimika White, and kids. There is a lady behind me who gives me that push. She cries when I cry, laugh when I laugh and when I am down, she is down. She does everything to motivate me. She is the one who provides the meals when I go home, rub the feet when the feet are tired and play with my head when it is over thinking. My brother Mark also gives me the push. I love my kids, my wife and I love employees.”

As for White’s philanthropic efforts, before and during the novel coronavirus pandemic, through his company which he co-owns with his brother Mark, he frequently donated equipment and other scarce supplies to hospitals and health centres across the island. He along with Stephen Josephs, projects manager of the Sanmerna Foundation, also initiated a programme to fund and seek treatment for people who receive severe and life-threatening burns.

“I am honoured! I have donated wheelchairs, beds and other medical supplies to several hospitals and I have been helping a lot of burn victims. The first burn victim I helped was one of my former employees, Kerry-Ann Collins, when a gas cylinder exploded inside her house. Unfortunately she died. The second person was Nicola Clarke from Hanover who was set on fire by her boyfriend last year. We sent her to the United States for treatment but it is unfortunate that she died.

“Our most recent case is 13-year-old Adrianna Laing from Westmoreland, who is now getting treatment in Atlanta for her burns,” White said.

White’s contribution to society goes far beyond the health sector. He has a breakfast programme for underprivileged children and also donates computers and other gadgets to help children in inner-city communities with their studies. He also pays tuition for numerous young people in high school and college.

“I have been giving back to my country willingly. I contribute significantly to education. I bring in a lot of musical equipment and donate to the Alpha Boys’ Home and I give a lot to the Maxfield Park Children’s Home and other children’s homes. Every year I ensure that there is a Christmas party at the Jamaica Urban Transport Centre for the children with physical disabilities. Somebody has to remember these children,” he said.