The MAJ: Battling a Medical Tsunami

February 17th, 2015

The Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) is a venerable institution. In fact, it is half a century old this year – the oldest professional organization in Jamaica. Last week it launched its week-long Golden Jubilee celebrations, to take place from June 7 – 14. The week will include a Gala, Banquet and Awards Ceremony on […]

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Taking a Breather

February 10th, 2015

Phew! This year has been pretty intense so far, hasn’t it? All across the island, people and organizations and communities are launching themselves into new projects. The University of the West Indies has been going full throttle with important seminars and lectures we don’t want to miss. The question is how to find that elusive […]

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Social Enterprise: A Solution to the Inequality Dilemma?

January 27th, 2015

There were plenty of questions – and some answers – at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel today (January 26), the first day of the very first Social Enterprise Summit. The Summit is a collaboration of the JN Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) stemming from its three-year Social Enterprise Boost Initiative (SEBI), […]

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Little Children

January 20th, 2015

The great boxer (he is so much more than a boxer) Muhammad Ali once said: “Children make you want to start life over.” Thoughts about life and death and family and children ran through my head as I walked in the Jewish Cemetery on Orange Street today. From this large open space, I could see […]

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Room To Breathe: Greening Our Cities and Towns

January 14th, 2015

I had an interesting conversation with a young Jamaican woman I know recently. She is currently visiting the island from Canada with her eight-year-old son. It was instructive, she said, to view Jamaica through her young son’s eyes. He expressed his thoughts on arriving in Kingston with a refreshing bluntness, as children often do. While […]

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Why is Mr. John Canoe Disappearing Down the Road?

December 30th, 2014

So, what did Christmas mean to Jamaicans this year? The few days preceding Christmas, in Kingston at least, were frenetic. Traffic swelled to gridlock levels, supermarkets were under siege and nerves were frayed as shoppers with limited budgets struggled to find the best bargains. Desperate women fought over Christmas cake in a well-known supermarket. There […]

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