Social Impact with Emma » Facebook : A Jamaica Gleaner Blog

Here is Something Life-Saving You Can Do: Give Blood!

May 31st, 2020

We are thinking a lot about health, about life and death, these days in the time of COVID-19. But, as the German writer Goethe said, Blut ist ein ganz besondrer Saft. [Blood is a very special juice]. It is remarkable in many ways. Jamaicans are, in general, very squeamish about giving blood. Many are afraid […]

COVID-19 and Our Most Vulnerable – Part 1

May 15th, 2020

The ongoing pandemic, and our response to it, continues to raise many questions, and fewer answers than I would like. With the slight “loosening” of social restrictions and the pending opening of our borders, how are those who already face so many everyday challenges faring? And one wonders, how do they face up to the […]

Get Safe Online – and Learn Some Life Skills

March 8th, 2020

The Broadcasting Commission is doing a grand job with public education. I do love their television ads, which are vibrant, well targeted and have a big dose of Jamaican energy and humor. Their “What If?” commercial (here’s the hip-hop version) is very well crafted, targeting youth with their warnings about the use or misuse of […]

2019: A Year of Internet Shutdowns, Disinformation, and Distrust

December 28th, 2019

2019 has been the year of “Internet shutdowns.” No, I am not talking about Jamaican companies that fail to deliver the services that we pay for. I am talking about shutdowns initiated by governments that are afraid of their own citizens. The Internet has become the lifeblood of many societies in almost every country you […]

My Alternative to Being “Scared For the Holidays”

December 14th, 2019

I read a blog post by journalist Kate Chappell, and it made me think. Yes, crime is on the increase. Yes, the roads are a mess. Traffic (and bad driving) has reached another level. Noise pollution (now encouraged by the Government’s amendment to the Noise Abatement Act) has reached new highs. And Kate is right – […]

Cockpit Country: Is It Really All About the Boundaries?

November 29th, 2019

Ceiling fans whirred and night sounds crept through the windows of the Webb Memorial Baptist Church in Stewart Town, Trelawny earlier this evening. A Town Hall Meeting was in progress, streamed live on Facebook on the websites of the sponsors, the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ), the Public Access Channel (PAC) and the Jamaica Gleaner. […]

Older Entries