Communications specialists Stacy-Ann Smith and Michelle-Ann Letman on Wednesday said they where left in awe after learning that they would be awarded for their efforts in assisting women facing gender-based violence (GBV).

Smith and Letman were among 29 recipients for US Embassy, Kingston’s Stakeholder Appreciation and Recognition Awards (SARA) ceremony which celebrated the exceptional performance of US Embassy programme partners who exemplify best practices in their sector and inspire new ideas.

Smith, who is the CEO of Danrak Productions, and Letman, who is the CEO of PR Belle Media, received the Spotlight Award from the US Embassy’s Public Affairs section for their knowledge sharing platform called Stronger Together.

Through the platform, a three-part webinar series funded by US Embassy, Kingston, was created to raise awareness and provide counselling intervention for those impacted by GBV.

“We did not expect this. When we saw the e-mail we were saying ‘is this for real’?. I feel so grateful that we were given the opportunity to highlight an issue that is so serious in our country. When we found it [Stronger Together] during the pandemic we thought it was well needed. We were able to impact lives and, of course, we gave counselling to women which really sealed the deal for us,” Letman told the Jamaica Observer.

Smith was equally pleased, noting that more than 30 women benefitted from the programme.

“I feel like I am at the Grammys although this is not a singing industry, we really are passionate about women issues and to decide that we were coming together to do something that would have lasting impact and then to be recognised for it, is just amazing,” she said.

Principal of Bellefield Primary School Michael Calvert received the Partnership Impact Award from the US Peace Corps Jamaica for his school, in assisting with the training of the agency’s volunteers for the past five years.

He noted that the partnership has been beneficial for the students as they have learned valuable lessons from the Peace Corps, which is an international service network of volunteers, community residents, host country partners and staff focused on world peace and friendship.

“Whenever we are asked to partner with whatever organisation, we always try to make adjustments so that in the final analysis everybody will benefit. The school had significantly benefitted from having the Peace Corps at our school because our students have significantly improved in their literacy. So it is a win for this school,” he said.

“The students also learnt new cultures; the volunteers are from America so they are always curious to learn about the American culture and they get to meet other students from other schools in the cluster and so it is always beneficial to the students. We hope that this will continue for a very long time,” he added.

Public affairs officer at the embassy, Bobby Adelson Jr, told the Observer that he is expecting more awardee’s next year.

“We have been doing this awards ceremony for years now and we have been looking for people who are good partners and are able to build our bilateral relationship. We hope that next year we grow on what we had this year. There are hundreds of thousands of people in organisations who do great work every day and they deserve to be recognised,” he said.

A total of 17 recipients were awarded at the SARA ceremony last year.