Social Impact with Emma » NGO : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

Christine Staple-Ebanks Brings a Message of Inclusion

April 29th, 2015

As I sat down at Christine Staple-Ebanks’ table, she was taking a big sip from a large cup of coffee. I ordered a drink of similar proportions. There was much to talk about, I realized, concerning the development and education of our children with disabilities. Christine is the mother of four (although she truly does […]

The Silent Community

March 9th, 2015

Sometimes the news overwhelms you, doesn’t it? It has not been an easy week for Jamaicans. Let us focus on two specific incidents, in the midst of a sea of crime and violence: the murder of two girls, Santoya Campbell in Westmoreland and Kayalicia Simpson in St. Thomas. The two cases have much in common: […]

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), […]

Christmas in Trench Town

December 23rd, 2014

We drive down Collie Smith Drive. It is a wide road with a median and a gully down the middle, where people sometimes set up chairs to sit and watch the world go by. There is never much traffic. Goats rummage across a dark patch of thinly spread garbage in an area of open ground. […]

In Praise of Courageous Women: Pat, Joy and the Moms

October 28th, 2014

“Let us now praise famous men.” You may be familiar with this quotation from the Jewish Wisdom of Sirach and Ecclesiasticus in the Bible. This week, however, I have decided to praise neither men nor famous people, but some women I know, who cannot claim to be famous either (although they really should be). So, this […]

And What is Your Agenda? In Defence of NGOs

August 11th, 2014

What’s on the agenda? I notice that in the past year or so this word has crept into our public discourse. For some commentators it seems to have sinister connotations. As well as certain politically incorrect individuals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) apparently have “agendas.” Clearly, an organisation that takes up a particular cause or focuses on […]

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