Social Impact with Emma » Jamaica : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

The Deforestation of Our City

March 31st, 2018

I love my city of Kingston. I have my favourite spots, that I always enjoy. One of these is that little corner on the intersection of Old Hope Road and Lady Musgrave Road. A small church (the “Babbins Church,” founded in 1900 by Rev. Francis Bavin of the United Free Methodists) nestled there comfortably for 88 years, […]

Hunger, Obesity and Rural Poverty: All Part of the Same Picture

February 28th, 2018

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is holding the 35th Session of its Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Montego Bay next week from March 5 – 8. Among its three top priorities for the meeting are hunger – and, paradoxically, obesity. Both are on the rise in the region. The other […]

Why Are Public Displays of National Symbolism Still Important?

February 23rd, 2018

Why do our hearts flutter when we see the Jamaican flag raised? Why do we smile approvingly after a stirring rendition of Jamaica, Land We Love? Why are these rituals still so important? This blog post was actually inspired by another blog post, written by a very special U.S.-based Twitter friend. He wrote on the heels […]

Empowerment, Friendship and Black Role Models at the Winter Olympics

February 16th, 2018

Jamaicans are not normally particularly engaged with the Winter Olympics. After all, we don’t have ice and snow and are not used to negotiating it, let alone turning it into a sport. Climate change may eventually see to it that many previous sites for the Games will no longer be cold enough, even in miserable […]

Jamaica’s Ability to Respond to Natural Disasters Is Almost Non-Existent

January 11th, 2018

On Tuesday night, while many of us were tucked up in bed, a tsunami alert for Jamaica and other islands went out, triggered by a huge earthquake between Honduras and the Cayman Islands, for an hour or so; it was then discontinued. The next day, there were some careless and downright silly comments on social […]

“It From Grit”: Storytelling on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day 2017

November 9th, 2017

It’s not very often that women get to share their personal stories of challenge, success and growth in a large room filled with other women (and a sprinkling of men). However, A. Cecile Watson of Gr8Way Consulting spectacularly made this happen on November 8 at the Terra Nova Hotel on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. The theme […]

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