For nearly three decades the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run has stood as one of Jamaica’s most powerful demonstrations of corporate citizenship, collective goodwill, and national pride.

As the event marks its 28th year, Sagicor and the Sagicor Foundation once again deserve the highest commendation for sustaining a philanthropic tradition that continues to change lives and strengthen communities across the island.

This year’s focus is especially compelling. The run seeks to raise $150 million to assist five schools in western Jamaica that were battered by Hurricane Melissa: Salt Marsh Primary, Mayfield Primary and Infant, Hopewell High, Green Pond High, and Little London High.

These schools are more than buildings, they are havens of learning, stability, and hope for thousands of children. By directing proceeds to their repair Sagicor is investing directly in the future of communities that need it most, reminding us that recovery is not just about rebuilding structures, but about restoring opportunity and dignity.

Anyone hearing the stories of the trauma experienced by children in western Jamaica, and their subsequent reaction to rain since Melissa’s passage, cannot help but be moved.

“You hear screams when it rains, students are going back through the ordeal of Hurricane Melissa,” principal of Green Pond High School Mr Oraine Ebanks told a recent Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.

His colleagues — Mr Garfield James, principal of Little London High School; and Ms Venesha Brown-Gordon, acting principal at Salt Marsh Primary School — had similar stories.

“Everywhere gets wet, even in my office, once it starts to rain. You sit down [and] water is dripping all around, everywhere in the school gets wet,” Mr Ebanks added. That experience is not unique to him as the tales of extensive loss and damage spread across the parishes most affected by the Category 5 hurricane.

The stories triggered a most sober comment from Mr Christopher Zacca, president and chief executive officer of Sagicor Group and chairman of Sagicor Foundation, that it was imperative that less-impacted Jamaicans remember that others of their countrymen are still nowhere near normality.

“Hearing these on-the-ground stories we, in Kingston in particular, stand a risk that we lose sight of just the level of challenges that people in the west are facing. I think it is important that the media, and certainly Sigma Run, help to continue to highlight the tragedy that happened,” he said during the
Monday Exchange.

He is, of course, correct. Our hope, therefore, is that as many Jamaicans as possible will not only participate in the charity run this morning, but contribute funds, as there is great need to surpass the target set by Sagicor.

Last year, due to overwhelming public support, this event shattered previous records — raising $128 million which was donated to provide critical health-care improvements at Kingston Public Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, and Father Ho Lung and Friends Foundation’s Bethlehem Home, all of which serve some of the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. These outcomes underscore the tangible, life-changing impact of every registration fee, donation, and step taken.

We commend Sagicor, the participants, sponsors, and volunteers who continue to pour themselves into the Sigma Corporate Run and other charitable initiatives without which national progress would be impossible. They remind us of timeless truths about giving; that “no one has ever become poor by giving”, that “we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”, and that generosity is not just an act, but a way of being.

May those who give continue to find happiness and purpose, and may others be inspired to join them on the road.