Orane urges students to build culture of excellence
 Senator Douglas Orane (left), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Grace, Kennedy and Company Ltd., raps with first-time bursary awardees at a function in Kingston on Thursday. From second left are: Anika Carnegie, Richard Taylor, Julian Mowatt, Jody-Ann Reece and Michael McFarlane. - Winston SillTHE GRACE, Kennedy and Company Limited Foundation on Thursday awarded bursaries valued at just under $150,000 to 16 students at the secondary and tertiary levels. The students, accompanied by their parents, were encouraged by the Grace, Kennedy chairman and CEO, Douglas Orane, to build a culture of excellence that Jamaica needs in the 21st century. He said the awards were being made as part of a company undertaking to make its employees more productive by assisting the education of their children. "Now is the time to do all the things that you want to do. If you want to do something, don't wait. We only pass this way but once. It's not a dress rehearsal for the next life. This is for real," Senator Orane told the awardees. Referring to research done in the United States, which showed that societal problems such as teenage pregnancy and violence increased when the number of good role models in communities fell below five per cent, Mr. Orane urged parents to be positive role models and offer guidance not only to their own but also to other children in their communities. "What I see happening in Jamaica is indicative that a lot of our communities have no role models or very few. Young people are like missiles without guidance," the CEO told his audience during Thursday's presentation ceremony at Grace, Kennedy's Headquarters, Harbour Street, downtown Kingston. But young people would have to play a part by helping to steer Jamaica in a positive direction, he said, because "you have the future of Jamaica in your hands. If you want the country to be different, each of us has to make a decision, to say I will not be putting up with this any longer. If you see something you don't like, say something about it.
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