Nominations are now open for the 2003 Gleaner Honour Awards, which recognise
excellence in the society. Each year, since 1979, the newspaper has been honouring
the initiative, courage and accomplishments of organisations and individuals
whose contributions have significantly improved Jamaica's quality of life. Seven
category winners will be awarded from which the 'Man of the Year 2003', will
be chosen. The Gleaner is inviting you, our readers, to nominate an individual
or organisation you think merits such an award. The categories are: Arts and
Culture, Sports, Entertainment, Education and Public Service, Science and Technology,
Business and Voluntary Service. The nomination period ended at noon on Friday,
November 28. Your nominations should be sent to: The Gleaner Honour Awards Committee,
P.O. Box 40, 7 North Street, Kingston: Fax 922-6528; or e-mail honour.award@gleanerjm.com.
WORD
TIME
MINISTRIES
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WRITE to nominate Word Time Ministries of Jamaica for the Gleaner Honour Award 2003 in the category of Voluntary Services. Word Time Ministries of Jamaica, this year, is celebrating its ninth year of service to the nation. From a small humble beginning in St. James by a team of Christian young people, the ministry during this short time has expanded its role from that of Bible distribution to the adoption of a number of children homes, food distribution and many other areas in order to create a better society and to lay the foundation for an ordered society which cares for the disenfranchised.
Word Time Ministries of Jamaica is a non-profit youth organisation which was founded by a small group of Christian youth primarily for the purpose of distributing Bibles and other Christian literature to students in primary, junior high and all-age schools, civic leaders and other individuals in need of the Word of God. In addition, the ministry has also identified and addressed other social issues, which exists in hospitals, children's homes and other institutions.
AIDING CHILDREN
The ministry has staged numerous events for children in homes, schools and communities. Among these are sports championships, cultural championships, fruit festival, back-to-school presentations and fun days. The ministry also visited the rural community of Spring Village, in which an evangelistic children's relay was staged. The ministry also stages an annual awards ceremony, which is planned by young people. The aim of the awards is to promote excellence among the young people of the ministry and the children of the homes, in personal achievements, character development, discipline and deport
I am, etc.,
TREVESA DASILVA
Public Relations Assistant
Word Time Ministries
of Jamaica
KAY OSBORNE
THE EDITOR, Sir:
PERHAPS IN a different setting, another time, another place, Kay Osborne would have been called a 'whistle blower' - that rare species with exceptional guts who 'risks all to bring us badly needed word of trouble inside crucial institutions,' as the American magazine, Time, put it in naming three such individuals, all women, 'Persons of the Year' for 2002.
But context and circumstances differ. Two of Time's whistle-blowing Persons of the Year worked in separate, large U.S. corporations; the other in the world's foremost law-enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Because the women did 'right by doing their jobs rightly,' once high-flying corporate executives are now being hauled before television cameras in handcuffs and tried in court for criminal wrongdoing. More significantly, because the women spoke up or simply 'bawled out' at evil, wickedness and perilous incompetence (after of course doing their homework), people in the American society may again trust the integrity of their public and private institutions.
Something there is, though, in our closeted Jamaican culture, with its penchant for secrecy, affinity, self-preservation and protection, that causes us to recoil from the very idea of a whistle blower, the imported uptown version of, God forbid, an informer! All the more reason to believe that the unfinished accomplishment of Kay Osborne's saga - undertaken at great personal risk and at safe distance outside the walls of unduly politicised institutions - will in no small way make us a more responsible, humane and whole society.
CHILDREN'S HOME ABUSES
In January of this year, The Gleaner published disturbing stories of sexual and other abuses of our disposable children - those who live in Jamaica's children's homes. The Government did subsequently initiate a review of the homes. In July 2003, the Keating Report confirmed that children in Government- and private-run children's homes were subjected to carnal abuse, rape, battering and generally harsh punishment from uncaring adults. A number of children, the report said, had attempted suicide.
Most of us were not surprised that abuse was occurring in the children's homes. Duh! We had heard stories. What was shocking was the reported level of abuse that some children were subjected to, and the apparent apathy among staff.
Sometime this year, Ms. Osborne moved to Jamaica to further present the case for, and awaken our collective conscience to, the plight of our discarded children. By so doing, she has put her life on hold and her career - at mid-life - at risk. Her essential contention is that child sexual abuse has profound and long-lasting harmful effects on victims, families and society; that when children are abused and neglected they are primed to engage in self-destructive, criminal and anti-social conduct; that when harmed they develop the potential to harm society. To which I as a social scientist, with some knowledge on the subject, can only echo a loud, Amen!
Ms. Osborne's voice is one that matters. "Our lives begin to end," Martin Luther King, Jnr. reminds us, "the day we become silent about the things that matter."
For this reason, I nominate Kay Osborne for the Gleaner Public Service Award.
I am, etc.,
BERNARD HEADLEY
Professor of Criminology
MICHAEL SCHURTON
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WISH to nominate Michael Schurton for the Gleaner Honour Award 2003 in the category of Voluntary Services.
There are many individuals who volunteer to accept the challenge as leaders or workers of various organisations in order to work to better the quality of life in our communities and the nation. There are many individuals who seek to do volunteer work due to the status or reward and recognition, which they receive. However, Michael Schurton is a volunteer extraordinaire who gives of his time, talent, money, energy, creativity, and resources freely and because of his love and compassion for people in general. Volunteering for him is not work but volunteerism is his life.
His life has been one that is filled with evidence of one who truly have a heart for unselfish and devoted service. Throughout many communities, he has left testimonies of love, compassion, dedication and unfailing commitment to the upliftment of others.
He has shown great depth for leadership and fortitude with the organisations he has volunteered to work. He has founded a youth organisation with his personal savings so that others may improve their quality of life. That organisation has contributed millions of dollars to various projects. He has personally engineered a comprehensive marketing programme, especially events marketing that has realised millions of dollars in sponsorship from various companies. His work with children and teens speaks to a special quality of the human spirit and a heart's desire for genuine service to the neglected, needy, abandoned, disillusioned, and disenfranchised of the Jamaican society.
I am, etc.,
NICOLA GRAY
Student
University of the West Indies
LLOYD HALL
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I HEREBY nominate Mr. Lloyd Hall for the Gleaner Honour Award 2003 in the category Arts and Culture.
Truly, Mr. Lloyd Hall is a trailblazer and pioneer in the field on music education. He served first as a senior education officer in the Ministry of Education, then, after retirement, he was appointed Head of the Music Department at the Shortwood Teachers College spanning 50 years of service to music education in schools and colleges.
Because of his enviable position as a teacher trainer, he has passed on knowledge to the many hundreds of teachers, who in turn now pass on to their children in schools, the high standard of music, education of which he is known. One remembers him for his school broadcast programmes.
Only three years ago, the Royal College of Music, London, bestowed on him the Fellow of the Royal College of Music the only one ever bestowed on a West Indian musician, in his exceptional work in music education in schools and colleges.
I recommend him highly for an award in the category of Arts and Culture.
I am, etc.,
KINGSLEY MORGAN
President
St. Andrew Singers
IJCHR
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WOULD like to nominate the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) for the 2003 Gleaner Award.
This group has established its dedication to public service through its defence of our human rights.
One does not have to look far to see the hard work and dedication of this group from fighting for mentally ill inmates who have been 'lost' in our justice system to educating our youth and the general public about the importance of human rights and their defence.
I believe that it is important for us to begin recognising as a people the dignity and beauty of all human beings. We are called to forgive and walk in the spirit of love and reverence, and not to fear change that is born from reverence and love for all life.
The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights, for the past 34 years, has shown that we can make a difference if we choose to act responsibly and with a positive intention.
I am, etc.,
PETA GAYE LEVY
Liguanea, Kingston
BARBARA CARBY
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I HEREBY nominate Dr. Barbara Carby, director-general in the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Manage-ment (ODPEM), for the Gleaner Honour Award in the category of Public Service for her outstanding contribution in the area of disaster management in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Dr. Barbara Carby was the first female to graduate from the University of the West Indies with a Doctorate in Geology in 1986. To date, she has dedicated over 16 years to disaster management and its related areas. Her professional experience includes the development of contingency plans and national loss reduction programmes to ensure national preparedness.
Dr. Carby has also authored various publications in her field and has served with several voluntary organisations local, regional and international.
With her outstanding public service in making Jamaica 'a nation prepared' I do support her nomination for your prestigious award.
I am, etc.,
MARLENE SMITH
118 D Chelsea Manor
11-17 Chelsea Avenue
Kingston 10
KINGSLEY THOMAS
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WISH to support the nomination of Kingsley Thomas for The Gleaner Honour Award for the year 2003.
Kingsley Thomas can be regarded as one of the finest role models for any public service. He has always given of his very best in service. Putting himself last, whatever he believes in he carries it through with passion and enthusiasm.
He is creative, a deep thinker, and strong in his belief in Jamaica. The highlight of his career is the development of Emancipation Park. Though I personally don't approve of the statues, I believe the park is the centrepiece of our development and something of which we should be as proud as we would be of our highways and other forms of development. Mr. Thomas has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to secure financing for this and other projects. It is with pleasure that I support one who is as unselfish; one who has served with honour and not for honour.
A.A. 'BOBBY'
POTTINGER
P.O. Box 6
Oracabessa, St. Mary
KENNY BENJAMIN
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WOULD like to nominate Kenny Benjamin, of Stony Hill, St. Andrew in the category of Business.
His life has been one of his continuos contribution in the security industry throughout the entire Jamaica and has excelled in his business.
I am, etc.,
KAY WALTERS
Charles Town
St. Mary
YOU / BETTY-ANN BLAINE
THE EDITOR, Sir:
IT IS with great pleasure that I nominate Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) located at 4 1/2 Camp Road, Kingston 5, and its founder Betty-Ann Blaine for the Gleaner Honour Awards 2003.
YOU is a voluntary organisation which provides a supervised mentoring programme and other positive intervention for in school adolescents. It is designed to help the students to complete their post primary education and move on to higher education, employment or skills training.
The organisation focuses on mentoring programmes, adolescent workshops, parenting workshops, homework centre, peer counselling, summer enrichment camps, shadow week (work experience - introduction to the work place; practices and ethics) and motivational power talks. An adolescent support centre has also been established to offer professional counselling.
With this success of linking caring adults with young people, YOU has contributed positively to lives of thousands of Jamaican adolescents and as such is most deserving of this award.
KEISHA HAUGHTON
A-Z Preston Hall
UWI, Mona
Kingston 7
IVY ALVES / RINA LEMMENS
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WOULD like to nominate Ivy Alves and Rina Lemmens of New Life Community for the Gleaner Honour Award. For the past 30 years, they have given their lives and their service to the members of this community.
Through their kindness, care and unconditional love, countless lives have taken a different direction, not only the community members but the lives of many in the wider society.
People have seen their lives changed; they have experienced the power of forgiveness, conversion, healing, restored relationships, a new purpose in life and many other transforming blessings.
Ms. Alves and Ms. Lemmens accepted to live as lay persons in the Community's House of Prayer, dedicating their lives towards total service for others. Over the years, besides working in New Life Community both contribute in caring for persons living in Riverton, Mount Friendship, Tom's River and other areas of Jamaica.
I am, etc.,
ANNE ARTHUR
8 South Ave.,
Kingston 10
