NATANE HALLTo live in a tough country like Jamaica, Natane Hall says she goes by a tried-and-proven motto: 'Once you work hard you will achieve anything.'
A financial consultant, Ms. Hall is the chirpy chief operations officer for Elite Restaurants Limited, parent company of Juici Beef Patties, which has outlets in 13 parishes.
Shortly after returning from the United States five years ago, Ms. Hall hooked up with the Digicel cellular company where she worked as a billing agent, before landing the job with Elite Restaurants Limited.
She turned 26 in August and while she is not immune to the tough times many Jamaicans are experiencing, she says she has done well for herself.
fortunate to be surviving
"I'm fortunate enough to land a job so that I can survive ... I realise that if people my age are willing to work hard and stick to their goals, they will achieve," she told The Sunday Gleaner.
The petite Ms. Hall says the story is the same for most of her former schoolmates at Wolmer's Girls High School. Many
of them went on to university, graduated, and at present, hold down well-paying jobs.
Because her job takes her to various parts of the country, Ms. Hall says she sees many others in her age group are struggling to make ends meet.
"The mood that I see on the road for the majority of people who may be my age is ... they need help, most of them not going to school, most of them don't have a proper job," she noted. "We need a freer system of education so that not only middle class and upper middle-class can go to school."
not interested in politics
Like many young Jamaicans, Ms. Hall says she is not
interested in politics. Neither is she impressed by what either of the two major political parties, the governing People's National Party (PNP) and the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), have to offer.
"I am only used to the PNP in power, and I don't know much about the JLP," she said. "All I know about both parties is mouth and no action. It's not going to make a difference who is in power if it's just mouth and no action."
Where she would love to see a difference being made is making Jamaica a safer place to live. She believes the sluggish economy and rampant crime "I drive with my windows up" are areas that need to be addressed urgently.
Once things begin to look up in those areas, she is confident that Jamaica will take off.
H.C.
