Promoting youth engagement

LET ME congratulate the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation for its outstanding record of service in fostering peace and promoting the upliftment of the lives of Jamaicans, especially in the downtown, Kingston area. , The magnitude of the contributions you have made since you began this journey in 1979 has earned you the reputation of being a vibrant and resourceful partner in Jamaica’s thrust for sustainable social and economic development and growth.

Indeed, the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation provides an example worthy of emulation for its sustained commitment to promoting youth engagement and the provision of avenues for their participation and involvement in business and the community through the range of cultural, social, and civic activities that it undertakes. You can be particularly proud of your efforts in responding to the increasing levels of unemployment and crime and violence in our communities. These efforts have not gone unnoticed as many of the beneficiaries have not only seized the opportunity for their own personal advancement but have become leaders in their own right and are making significant contributions to nation building.

The partnerships that you have forged with the Jamaican community have created avenues for expanding the range of social services in the country. These services are critical to improving the delivery of education at the community level and the physical environment in which the infirmed and indigent receive care.

In particular, I want to laud the Foundation for the active role it has played over the last 40 years in supporting Jamaican students through various educational opportunities. The growth and expansion of your efforts has been steady and is yielding success. We believe that nurturing our Jamaican community, as a whole, is integral to our development path as a nation. Working in partnership with and galvanising the energy generated by such private sector-led initiatives will be critical to building a Jamaica that works for all, not just a few.

Let me wish you every success as you celebrate this significant milestone and encourage you to continue to build on the fine traditions you have established. Your sustained commitment is integral as we aim to make Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business.