The Rose Town Foundation (RTF) for the past 12 years has been creating opportunities for the residents of the central Kingston community by collaborating on development programmes that aim to enhance the community and the lives of the residents. From a farming project that improves the community’s socio-economic status to specialised programmes for both men and women, the RTF has been transforming lives.

In recent years, the RTF has been capitalising on the internet as an important resource tool to complement most, if not all, of its training programmes. Executive Director of the RTF, Ruth Jankee, said internet access is incorporated in all of the Foundation’s operations.

“The internet has been a gamechanger for the children in the community,” said Jankee. “The internet powers our computer lab and supports our after school programmes. The Wi-Fi is also accessible to residents with their own devices, so it serves a critical need for digital literacy development.”

To enhance its work, the Flow Foundation recently donated free broadband connectivity to the RTF which will further improve the capabilities and bandwidth of the RTF to serve the residents.

LeVaughn Flynn, Flow’s Public Relations Manager, said: “The Rose Town Foundation plays an important intermediary role between the residents and public and private agencies that provide critical services for a better quality of life. Reliable internet service is central to this administrative process, as well as driving greater digital inclusivity by supporting the training programmes, and we’re pleased to provide our fibre fast network to the Rose Town Foundation.”

Some of the current initiatives of the RTF include the Save Our Sons programme, which seeks to engage males between 17-24 years old to deter them from a life of crime through one-on-one training and motivational sessions.

Its women’s programme, 18 to 80, targets a wide cross section of females and offers training in personal development, crochet and design, holistic personal health, and backyard herbal medicines.

The RTF was established in 2010 and most of its staff are from the community. While the Foundation was registered in 2010, the community has been benefiting from social intervention since 2004 through the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, a UK-based charity working around the world on built environment issues.

Jankee noted that the RTF has evolved to include in-need practical courses such as customer service and healthcare and that its internet access allows the residents to conduct important research for class projects.

“We offer certification classes for people to make them more employable and the broadband connectivity facilitates research to allow for the successful matriculation of the residents,” she said.

The Flow Foundation is one of several corporate partners that make it possible for the RTF to make a positive impact. To learn more about the RTF and how you can support its mission, please visit rosetownfoundation.org