Hilary Robertson-Hickling

The value of investment is being discussed at many levels of our society. There was a recent discussion which suggested that there was enough local investment possible to generate growth in Jamaica and reduce our dependence on foreign investment. This, however, was not taking place.

Then there was a recent article about the need to teach our children about investment in order that they learn to create wealth instead of just being consumers. This is a challenge for many people who have grown accustomed to living for today and way above their means. The examination results published in the newspapers provide clear evidence of young people and parents who have understood that they have to invest time and other resources to allow them to reap great rewards later. Some want to reap what they have not sown, to get marks that they have not worked for and to cheat their way through life.

A recent experience at the blood bank reminded me about the importance of investment there. My mother who is sick in the hospital was not only able to benefit from donations of blood from two cousins but also to benefit from donations which I had made in the 1970s when I had first started to be a donor. At that time, three teenage girls who had recently turned 18 went to give blood as a sign of our entry into early adulthood. We felt very pleased with ourselves as we drank the drink that was given to strengthen us. Today, we hear constant appeals for blood and there are many people who have not realised that giving and receiving are two sides of the same human coin.

Love for better

In response to the question 'have you given me anything to put down?', the answer is an over-whelming no, but people still have the expectation that they can make demands for money, help and other kinds of support. There are so many stories of many who have neglected their wives and families in favour of lovely young women who love them when they are healthy and wealthy. However, in the days of illness and infirmity, they have to beg to be taken in by their own forgotten families and cared for by their wives. As a friend of mine who is a banker reminds us, "If you have not made deposits, you cannot take anything out of the bank."

This leads me to question what the investment by the dons in various communities is all about. It seems that a very high tax is placed upon people who have to be prepared to kill for the don, who have to sacrifice their daughters to the harem of the don. I hope that this situation as well as our terrible history of political patronage will change to a healthier situation where genuine philanthropy is undertaken.

I was intrigued to see an item of news about the city of Kalamazoo in Michigan where an anonymous donor had decided to assist high school students who wanted to go to college. The industrial base of the city had been affected by the economic downturn and bright young people were having a difficult time going to college. This donor decided to assist any student who wished to go to college in the state system in Michigan. The need for people to invest in themselves, their families, the institutions which have contributed to their growth and development is quite clear. We have all benefited from the generosity and vision of others, when the nation benefits, we all will.

Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies, UWI, Mona.