Impacting Jamaica

Close to 60 per cent of Jamaica’s population is overweight and in danger of developing diabetes.

This is according to Professor Errol Morrison, an expert on the disease, who is appealing to Jamaicans to exercise lifestyle management and engage more in physical activities.

The professor points out that the disease affects over 20 per cent of Jamaica’s adult population; and that many don’t even know that they have the condition.

It is the second most common non- communicable disease on the island following behind hypertension, Professor Morrison noted. Additionally, diabetes is increasingly being seen among children and adolescents and this could be associated with obesity.

In this episode of Impacting Jamaica with host Shelly-Ann Harris, Professor Morrison discusses options facing Jamaica as it seeks to manage the current problem.

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Rachel Barrett Dolcine, a Jamaican living overseas, always wanted to give back to her country, a trait learnt from her grandparents.

“One of the things I had on my list from I was very young was to give back to Jamaica,” she said. “I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when. I was in elementary school then. That seed of giving back was planted many years ago.”

Today that dream is a reality. She is giving back to Petersfield in Westmoreland under the Joseph and Vera Douglas Family Foundation, in memory of her grandparents; and the current initiatives are rooted in their principles.

Barrett Dolcine, in this episode of Impacting Jamaica, tells host Keisha Hill that the Foundation’s areas of focus include education, health and wellbeing, violence against women and women entrepreneurship. 

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Businesswoman Audrey Hinchcliffe is reminding those in business that they have a key role to play in helping to uplift people and their communities. In other words, shaping the caring economy, a just society.

She said business “leaders must be aware of the environment in which they operate and be prepared to respond to the needs and imperatives, not just for economic gain”.

Hinchcliffe, the founder and chairman of the Manpower Maintenance Group of Companies, spoke recently after accepting the prestigious Live2Lead Leadership Award in Kingston.

This episode of Impacting Jamaica shares excerpts of her speech during which she stated that over the past two and a half years, especially, we have seen a sharp line of demarcation drawn between those who have the ability to lead effectively and those who don’t.

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The Association of Christian Communicators and Media (ACCM), launched in October this year, is ready to inject new energy into the voice of the Church.

It’s President Jenni Campbell says the Church has been diminished because of its absence in the media space. “It does not have that amplified voice…that can compete with other voices in the space,” says the media practitioner of 30 years.

In this episode of Impacting Jamaica with host Keisha Hill, Campbell declares that “now is the time and the season for the active Church,” and outlines the vision and mission of the ACCM.

This will include showcasing stories of hope and programmes of hope across Jamaica and its key diaspora communities in the Caribbean, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

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Close to 60 per cent of Jamaica’s population is overweight and in danger of developing diabetes.

This is according to Professor Errol Morrison, an expert on the disease, who is appealing to Jamaicans to exercise lifestyle management and engage more in physical activities.

November 14 is World Diabetes Day and the professor points out that the disease affects over 20 per cent of Jamaica’s adult population; and that many don’t know that they have the condition.

It is the second most common non- communicable disease following behind hypertension, Professor Morrison noted. Additionally, diabetes is increasingly being seen among children and adolescents and this could be associated with obesity.

In this episode of Impacting Jamaica with host Shelly-Ann Harris, Professor Morrison outlines measures Jamaicans can take to ward off or manage diabetes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good leadership is about influence and what you do for the people, states official host for the Live2Lead initiative in Jamaica, Erica McKenzie.

"A lot of times we think leadership is about the position that you hold. That does not make you a leader; it's the doorway to leadership. Leadership is about influence and people," asserts McKenzie, who revealed that the Live2Lead initiative has already impacted roughly 2,000 leaders in Jamaica.

Join host Shelly-Ann Harris as she talks leadership with Erica McKenzie in this edition of Impacting Jamaica.

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The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) was established in 1996 as a component of the Government of Jamaica’s national poverty alleviation strategy. The Fund was designed primarily to channel resources to small-scaled community-based projects.

Under the 10th cycle of the Basic Needs Trust Fund, JSIF has improved the social infrastructure of many communities across the length and breath of Jamaica. Communities such as Troy in Trelawny and many parts of South Manchester now have highly reliable piped water in homes.

JSIF works in areas “on the poverty map that are rated as poorest of the poor communities in Jamaica,” said the entity’s boss Omar Sweeney.

JSF is also working to improve the livelihoods of farmers in rural Jamaica through business training, helping the farmers to see themselves as businesspersons; and has also upgraded farm roads to make it easier to take produce to markets and other places.

In this episode of Impacting Jamaica, Sweeney discussed the agency’s work across Jamaica with host Tameka Gordon.

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Colin Gyles is from humble beginnings. He grew up in Orangefield, a rural community in St. Catherine. However, his parents instilled in him and his other seven siblings, the importance of humility and perseverance.

Today, he is a renowned and acclaimed scientist, with over 30 years in academia in Jamaica. Professor Gyles is the Acting President of the University of Technology, Jamaica.

On National Heroes Day, October 17, 2022, he accepted a national award – the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander for his exceptional contribution to the field of academia.

“I like to contribute positively to any space that I am in,” said the professor.

He joins Impacting Jamaica host Keisha Hill and tells us why it is important to give back to community and country, even if you are not recognised at the highest level.

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Earlmont Williams grew up as a poor boy in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “I didn’t plan to become a Christian,” he said, recalling that he went to a crusade with friends as a youngster to chat with girls. He however left surrendering his life to the Creator.

Then he decided he wanted to attend the Bethel Bible College in Jamaica. “I can recall my father saying to me; are you sure you want to go to Jamaica? Why Jamaica? I said I just want to go to study. This is what I believe God wants me to do.” He got the greenlight. He packed his bags and left his homeland.

Rev. Dr Williams has made tremendous strides since coming to Jamaica in 1997, serving in numerous senior positions in the church and at tertiary institutions. Today, he is the President of the Bethel Bible College of the Caribbean located in Mandeville, Manchester – where he was a student 25 years ago.

In this episode of Impacting Jamaica, the Rev. Dr Williams joins host Keisha Hill, as he shares his journey from St. Vincent and the Grenadines to one of the highest leadership roles in his academic and ministerial career. 

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