Diaspora Contributions Important To National
Development, Says Minister
Published:Friday | March 3, 2017 | 3:00 AM
Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister,
Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, has underscored the value of the diaspora in
making contributions to national development. She noted that Jamaicans abroad
continue to play a significant role in the country's growth and job-creation
strategy.
The minister was speaking at a handing over
ceremony on Tuesday, where she received a cheque from Althea Byll-Cataria, a
member of Jamaican diaspora in Switzerland, which will cover the cost of eight
art workshops to be hosted by the Jamaican Foundation for Lifelong Learning
(JFLL) in 2017. The funds, in the amount of US$4,450, were raised at a
Caribbean fundraising dinner in Switzerland last November.
EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS
The art workshop project, conceptualised by
Byll-Cataria and Jamaican artist Garfield Morgan, aims to empower individuals
through the use of art as a form of self-expression and communication, as well
as income generation.
Johnson Smith congratulated Byll-Cataria for
the initiative in identifying a need and taking action to fulfil it.
"This project will go a long way in not
only boosting the confidence of persons who are part of the literacy programme,
but also in providing a steady income for those who start businesses after
discovering their artistic talent at these workshops," said the minister,
who also hailed the project for finding a creative way to address the literacy
needs of Jamaicans.
The project commenced in January 2016 and has
since hosted three eight-week workshops, where individuals learned to construct
simple craft or jewellery items from paper, string, beads and recycled
materials. The JFLL shared that it is also making concrete efforts to expand
the programme.
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