Serving the Community Is Part of KCOBA (GA)’s Mission – An Update
By Derrick R. Wright
Derrick R. Wright
Contributing Editor’s Note: In my article entitled “Serving the Community Is Part of KCOBA-GA’s Mission” (KCOBA Newsletter, November 2006) I stated, essentially, that while one of KCOBA-ATL’s missions is to raise funds for The College, we also participate in an array of events and activities designed to “benefit the greater Atlanta area and connected communities.” That community service obligation was further underscored by our president, Glen Laman, in a brilliant and insightful acceptance speech when he took office in Atlanta earlier this year.
On that note, I am pleased to report that, in addition to the major strides we have made in the area of community service locally in Greater Atlanta (see the November 2006 article), we have expanded our service area to include Jamaica, and various other communities throughout the United States, as well. That we have done through my active participation and service with the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organization (NAJASO). I serve as the chair of both the education and outreach committees.
The following is a report which highlights aspects of the work that we have been doing in Jamaica.
Education - Vocational Training Centre for Inner-City Youths/Adults:
NAJASO embarked on an organization-wide initiative to establish and maintain a Kingston, Jamaica, vocational training centre for inner-city youths and adults. This initiative was made possible through the generous offer of facilities covering the entire second floor of a multi-purpose building located at 179 Orange Street in Kingston, Jamaica. Use of the fully renovated and modernized building facilities was offered to NAJASO lease-free for five years by Mrs. Winnifred “Molly” Bennett, a NAJASO founding member and renowned philanthropist who resides in Hartford, Connecticut.
In addition to housing the centre, “the facility would double as NAJASO’s headquarters in Jamaica,” NAJASO’s President Cathy Tomlinson beamed with pride. “Further, the establishment of the training centre will be in keeping with our aims and objectives to seek means and ways to assist in improving the lot of the deprived, unemployed and socially economically disadvantaged, and to enlist and encourage the involvement of Jamaicans at home and abroad who can make meaningful contributions to the plight of the underserved.”
NAJASO Education Committee Chair Derrick R. Wright pointed out that volunteer teachers will be brought on board to help staff the training centre. He specifically noted that a math scientist, who is currently a Ph.D. candidate, has already committed himself to serve as the institution’s first instructor. “We are fairly optimistic that we will have a steady flow of highly qualified and committed volunteer teachers who would be willing to serve as instructors,” Mr. Wright projected. “Even so, we fully recognize that we may have to hire personnel to fill certain slots. We will have to secure funding to make that necessity a reality, of course. Our member organizations will be partnering with us on this major venture.”
The Bishop of Kingston, the Rt. Rev. Robert Thompson, has been commissioned to head up a Kingston-based committee charged with making the training center initiative a reality. Further, the executor for the estate of NAJASO visionary Ambassador Alfred A. Rattray has secured the family’s blessing for the facility to be named in honor of the late ambassador.
Education - Rose Hall Basic School Scholarship/Assistance Programs.
Students from Rose Hall Basic School
At a ceremony for dozens of smartly attired graduating students at the Rose Hall Basic School in Linstead, NAJASO proudly presented thirteen, full-year scholarships to high-performing non-graduates. Six of the awardees received full scholarships covering tuition, lunch and uniforms, while seven were tuition-only scholarships. Benefactors included the Jamaica Progressive League of New York, California’s Carol Williams, and The Atlanta Jamaican Association’s Family Relations Committee Chair Copeland Comrie.
Separately, NAJASO furnished two, 4-drawer filing cabinets for the school’s exclusive use. The cabinets have been installed and are currently being utilized quite effectively to secure important school documents.
NAJASO has ongoing commitments to help the school meet several other urgent needs, including the need for swings and slides for the outdoor play area. In addition, the school needs 250 feet of barbed wire for use in building a fence to further secure the school grounds.
This school had been adopted as an official NAJASO education/outreach committee project. NAJASO member organizations are being encouraged to assist in the ongoing support of this worthwhile cause.
Education/Outreach - Maranatha Learning and Care Centre, Lilliput, St. James:
Once again the Maranatha facilities in Lilliput are the beneficiaries of NAJASO goodwill. Earlier this year NAJASO contributed US$500 towards the cost of updating a recently completed annex for the facility. This past July, as part of the NAJASO 2007 convention outreach program, NAJASO’s Ethel Whitehead and Mrs. Balford donated, to the school, several boxes of school supplies. Separately, Mrs. Whitehead contributed US$1,000 to further expand and improve certain aspects of the annex.
Flo McLean contributed Ja$3,000 towards the school’s operating budget, and Mr. Roy Davidson from California pledged to pay related costs to paint the entire Lilliput facility. An initial estimate for the painting was submitted to Mr. Davidson. Preliminary reports are that the painting project will cost in the neighborhood of US$2,000. NAJASO Treasurer Earl Mitchell projected that the related funds should be forthcoming from Mr. Davidson some time in the near future.
Outreach - Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD), Granville, St. James:
The CCCD was the second of the two projects officially identified as part of the NAJASO 2007 convention outreach program. However, unlike the long-established Maranatha partnership, the CCCD initiative is a new undertaking for NAJASO this year.
Items donated to the CCCD in July 2007 included those listed below that the institution had specifically requested:
Double-packs of 55-gallon trash bags
Several items of clothing
Masking-tapes, duct-tapes and cellophane tapes
Several dish towels, and
Aluminum foil wraps (several packages).
Benefactors contributing items to the CCCD: Mrs. Merthella Wright and Mrs. Ethel Whitehead.
It is anticipated that future contributions to this newly adopted institution will be even more significant over time as the NAJASO-CCCD partnership matures.
Closing Thoughts:
Needless to say, NAJASO and the combined committees, in particular, are proud of their 2007 accomplishments. Those accomplishments are even more noteworthy when one considers that there are several months still remaining in 2007, time enough for the committee to improve its philanthropic service record even further.
On that very note, the outreach committee plans one more mission to Jamaica in October 2007, to work with the Hands Across Jamaica for Righteousness organization to implement several benevolent initiatives. Separately, NAJASO’s Dr. Isaac Bartley, a medical doctor who practices gastroenterology in southern California, has collected, and plans to donate later this year (as soon as shipment can be arranged), the following equipment/materials to Mandeville Hospital:
2 Newborn incubators
5 Cardiac defibrillators
4 Cardiac monitors
1 CD/cassette player
1 DVD Player
Several medical CD/DVD/cassette tapes and medical books.
Submitted By Derrick R. Wright
Director, KCOBA (GA); Contributing Editor, KCOBA Newsletter; and
