THE JN Foundation has forged a partnership with the HEART/National Service Training Agency (NSTA) Trust, which will facilitate students enrolled in the institution’s construction and plumbing programmes to be trained in rainwater harvesting and grey water recycling.

The partnership was formalised with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the foundation and HEART/NSTA Trust on July 9 at the JN Financial Centre on Belmont Road in Kingston, a release from the JN Foundation said.

Chairman of the foundation, Parris A Lyew-Ayee Sr, said that the collaboration was a most welcome partnership for the JN Foundation.

“Like the HEART/NSTA Trust, the JN Foundation is also passionate about contributing to the developmental needs of Jamaica, and one of our focus areas is to improve environmental sustainability and, in particular, addressing our water needs,” he said.

Lyew-Ayee noted that the partnership is important because the foundation believes that for Jamaica to be much more resilient to climate change, the subject of water management should also be institutionalised within its education system.

According to Novelette Denton-Prince, acting managing director, HEART/NSTA Trust, the economic and social shock brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic requires a collaborative and coordinated approach to overcome and rebound stronger.

“The agency has positioned itself to rise to the challenge and lend its corporate social responsibility efforts to being part of the solutions to the issues brought about by this crisis,” she said.

She also underscored that the JN Water Project is a much-needed undertaking to address water management issues arising from climate change, which, she said, is a serious threat to sustainable development of small island developing states, such as Jamaica.

“Having persons trained in these areas will improve their ability to apply their expertise and, over time, this will have positive benefits that will ultimately excite,” Denton-Prince said.

Claudine Allen, general manager of JN Foundation, said water adaptation and climate change are issues which the foundation is passionate about, and she is happy that HEART/NSTA Trust was receptive to the collaboration.

“I’m excited about this partnership and how it will be manifested in the HEART environment, in classrooms, and being able to one day find a certified plumber who can come into my home to show me how I can save on water based on what they learnt from the course,” she said.

The MOU will also enable research to be conducted, particularly in the areas of sustainable development, climate change, energy efficiency, and related areas associated with water, housing, and land management. This would include drainage systems, natural storage of water, and irrigation techniques, which would mitigate both drought and flooding problems.

The release said the MOU is the second one being signed by the project with an institution. Earlier this year, the JN Foundation signed an MOU with University of Technology, Jamaica to train more people in water adaptation as one of the solutions to address the country’s drought challenges.

The JN Foundation Water Project is a joint collaboration with the JN Bank, the Climate Investment Funds, the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and IDB Lab to address water management issues related to climate change in Jamaica.