Voice For Jamaica Today Foundation Limited – Inside Story
The Voices For Jamaica Today Foundation is a registered Non-Government Organization.
With the aim of “Striving to develop Jamaica”, The Voices For Jamaica Today Foundation has embarked on numerous fundraising and community development projects across Jamaica to raise awareness of key issues and to assist the most vulnerable.
One such and most recent initiative was the public march against child abuse titled “The Save Our Children Campaign” which was held in May of this year across several parishes to include St Thomas. The aim of this campaign was to raise awareness of the alarming number of child murders and abuse of children across Jamaica and to stir action to break the silence.
Poverty is an increasingly important issue in Jamaica. Especially for some persons in the inner city and rural areas who find it difficult to provide basic needs for their children. As a result, on the 29th of August 2015, The Voices For Jamaica Today Foundation is collaborating with Florida based 1Jam1Love Foundation to host the Feed the Nation Back to school Treat. For this initiative we will be sponsoring five (5) parishes, namely St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Clarendon Trelawny and Westmoreland.
The Voices For Jamaica Today Foundation (VFJTF) is mandated to protect, care and support our Nation’s children in all possible way to ensure we provide a safe and sustainable environment for growth. As Project director of VFJTF I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to our organization.
The Group was created In November year 2013 as Voice for Jamaica (Which is now registered under the name; The Voices For Jamaica Today Foundation Ltd) by Jamaicans in the Diaspora with the goal of giving back to their homeland, being on Facebook Social Network for a number of years and seeing so many Jamaican’s at home and abroad making blogs on their personal pages relating the condition and challenges Jamaica is facing, One thought of how they could get all these people together where they can freely voice their opinions and concern for our country and ways to approach Jamaica’s betterment in one forum; thus, bring discussions with others who share the same views as well as those who disagree with their own reasons as to why.
Our mission is to provide a platform for Jamaicans, here and in the Diasporas, where diversity of thoughts and ideas is encouraged to identify the successes and challenges that are present. We will promote growth through collaborative planning, group activities, and policy advocacy to foster the betterment of the Jamaican citizens.
Within the group we have had many members who face all series of abuse in our country coming out and talking about them, such as being sexual abused, verbally abused and even physically abused to name a few. Also persons were unable to provide basic needs for their children or themselves or lack of funds for bills, education or medical expenses. Some of these stories were heart breaking to us, therefore we knew we need more than a facebook group to help in the betterment of our country.
To better foster our mission and vision VFJTF has sub groups in all fourteen parishes and set up committee leaders to monitor activities done respective parishes.
So far we have being engaged in communities’ service and given assistance as listed below:
Feeding Program
- Did breakfast at the infirmary on Hanover Street
- Donate Toiletries at the Trelawny infirmary, also started a once a month feeding program, lack of funds so it is on pause
- provide meals at the infirmary in Mandeville, next schedule is for Christmas
- Feeding program in Clarendon, over 50 homeless persons are provided with meals every Monday
- Provided meal for the infirmary in Westmoreland
- Provide grocery for the infirmary in St Elizabeth
- Christmas Treat for the Mustard Seed Children’s home in St Catherine
- Christmas Treat for the Kids at the Maverley Basic School
Education
- Donate back to school supplies to the Maverley Basic School
- Assisting 2 persons with tuition fees at tertiary level
- Assisted 2 persons with fees to complete high schools
- Sponsored the Gregory Park Primary 2015 Spelling Bee Competition
- Given Scholarship to Students at university level and upper six students
- Back to school treat in Clarendon for over 200 children
- Donate back to school supplies to the Good Grace Basic school in Maverley
Personal Assistance
- Assisting more than 10 persons with basic needs monthly (bills, food, clothes, house rental, pampers, medical expense etc.)
- Assisted more than 5 persons with funds to start small business
Youth Empowerment Program
- VFJT collaborated with the Maverley Source Centre to host The Maverley Summer camp 2015. The camp facilitated 25 children between the ages of 7 to 15 years old. VFJTF provided refreshments and resources (books, pencils, rulers, glue, papers, strings, markers, crayons, pens, erasers, sharpeners, etc.) and field trip to Hope Garden at the end of the camp that had lasted for three weeks.
- Sponsored the Clarendon youth Information Centre Heads up Summer Camp.
Clean up Program
- Did a project clean up day downtown Kingston, Sections of orange street and surrounding area of the George Williams park was cleaned
- International Coastal Clean up at Fort Rocky
Sports
- Collaborate with Yutes4Change with Gregory Park / Norman Campbell summer Football League 2015 CHAMPIONSHIP
Special need Persons
- provide special desk for physically challenged student
- Basic needs for Physically Challenged in Westmoreland
Sponsorship
- Sponsored the Yute4Change Gregory Park Wellness Fair
- Sponsored The MOGAVA Male Empowerment Symposium
- Sponsored Fletchersland Father’s Day Event
- Sponsored The Arlene Bailey Foundation Male Empowerment Program
- Sponsored YuteForChange Clarendon Labour Day Projects
- Sponsor ChavanNelson Foundation with the painting and fixing of the kitchen at the Love Lane Basic School in Clarendon
We also have My Brother My Sister (MBMS) committee online that offers counselling to persons wish to discuss their problems with the offices designed for that purpose.
I do believe that there is a lot more VFJTF can do for our people along with the public assistance. Given that you give us the opportunity to enlighten persons outside of Facebook about VFJTF, which is who we are and what we aim to achieve.
Alecia Jones – Project Director
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