NEW YORK, USA — Of all the Jamaican organisations established to buttress the development of the homeland and stir patriotism among nationals on United States soil, the umbrella National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO) was the brightest star in the constellation.

But just shy of a half-century of existence, NAJASO has lost its shine as member organisations plunged from 200 to a relative handful, giving way to a plethora of entities with diverse agendas, including fund-raising for political parties.

Now, led by a group of past executives who share memories of the glory days when the 47-year-old NAJASO had active chapters in Canada and the United Kingdom, a new initiative has been launched to recapture its status as the premier Jamaican organisation in the Diaspora.

“I faced unbelievably stiff resistance in trying to bring changes to the organisation. Hardly anything could be done without board approval, although I introduced an executive vice-president position as a form of checks and balance,” admitted Dr Robert Clarke, a past president and member of the move to revive NAJASO.

Dr Clarke told the Jamaica Observer in an interview that he had walked away from the position of president out of sheer frustration. He lamented that there had not been any meeting of the organisation for sometime now, though the by-laws require that one be held every two years.

“I was forced to walk away out of frustration, and many of the new organisations which I was trying to bring into the fold also left as a result of that same frustration,” he added, describing the current constitution “as archaic and in need of urgent changes”.

Another member of the group, journalist Mark Milward suggested that the organisation had become dysfunctional, a fact he said had been witnessed by external Jamaica Diaspora organisations, which would have otherwise joined.

Milward blamed the dysfunctionality on changes instituted by the current executive leadership in the organisation’s membership policy that had turned off potential members.

Under the changes, former organisations seeking to rejoin NAJASO must now pay hundreds of dollars in back fees for those years they had dropped out, Milward said, noting that some member organisations view the policy change as an attempt to protect the current NAJASO leaders from being voted out of office.

“The membership policy change also strips former member organisations who previously held full membership status and confined them to an associate membership level, thereby reducing the voting capacity and rights of those members,” Milward said.

Former president, Dr Roy Davidson, told this reporter that his nonprofit organisation – the Caribbean Cricket Club of California Inc – had been affected by the policy change in membership.

“Another nonprofit with which I am associated with, the Church Teachers’ College Alumni has also been affected.

In both cases, cheques representing fees were returned thereby rendering both organisations as associated members,” said Dr Davidson.

He noted that under the constitution, associated members are not allowed to participate in a meaningful way in the affairs of NAJASO.

Milward said that his own organisation, which hosts the Jamaica Diaspora Show with thousands of subscribers locally and on
YouTube, has also suffered the fate of having its fee returned.

California-based Janice Wisdom who is founder and executive director of Read Across Jamaica Foundation, which promotes literacy and other assistance for schools in Jamaica, said membership of her organisation in NAJASO, had been suspended since 2019.

“I have refused to pay the back amounts being sought to restore my membership,” said Wisdom who is a past executive secretary for NAJASO.

Reasons for refusal of fees range from cheques not being drawn on the account of the corresponding member organisation to a need for supporting documentation, according to those who have had problems with their membership.

In a robust response, current President Dr Joyce El-Ali said that NAJASO, like many other organisations, was facing serious problems with an aging population, noting that it was difficult to get young people to participate in wits activities.

“The situation has become a bit more challenging since the pandemic. Despite the difficulties, however, NAJASO is far from being dormant, and is in fact making progress in some areas,” Dr El-Ali insisted.

She said that she was “not averse to changes to the organisation that will make it more effective and relevant. We have to think differently, operate as a business, and figure out a way to broaden the scope of the organisation with significant projects”.

El-Ali also argued that changes to the membership issue would have been approved by the board of NAJASO. She also acknowledge that a meeting of the organisation is due in keeping with its constitution, but said the matter is receiving attention.

A member of the current leadership team, Beverley Morrison, who chairs NAJASO’s Health and Education Committee, supported El-Ali, saying that the organisation was indeed active and that significant work was being done, but that “some people might not be aware of what is happening”.

Morrison pointed to the involvement of NAJASO in a project between The University of the West Indies (UWI) and State University in New York (SUNY) and the National Institutes of Health, as an example of solid progress.

Professor Gene Morse of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and director of the SUNY/ UWI Center for Leadership and Sustainable Development, told the
Observer that over US$3 million had been spent on the project since it started in 2016.

Morse, who is an honorary member of NAJASO, said the organisation “has been and continues to be an integral part of the project. He noted too that the effort aims at collaboration between SUNY and The UWI in biomedical research and global collaborations with faculty and businesses engaged in climate change, and alternative energy, among other disciplines.

Those at the centre of the effort to effect changes and return NAJASO to its premier role believe that the organisation could be of considerable assistance to the current move by Jamaica’s Ambassador to the US Audrey Marks to get the Diaspora to help prevent the flow of illegal weapons into Jamaica, among other matters.