Kesi Asher, Staff ReporterUpliftment Jamaica, through the help of a son of the soil, has brought rays of hope to St. Thomas by making development opportunities available for residents of the parish.
The organisation was formed in 1999 by Gary Foster, chairman of the organisation, the late Kirk Green, Nigel Paris, Clayton Balliston and Rainford Grant. Foster lives in the United States and works at Rush Communi-cations as vice-president and adviser to chairman, Russell Simmons.
While Foster does work overseas, members of the the entertainment fraternity hold the fort locally. Various organisations and individuals are active members of the Upliftment Jamaica Board, including Sharon Burke from Solid Agency, Mark 'Buju Banton' Myrie and Ricardo Chin from Ricardo Chin Production
Services. Rapper Doug E. Fresh is also a board member.
Jamaican entertainers also offer their services by performing at the annual Elevation concert, which supports the project. Some of the artistes contributing in this way are Cecile, Left Side and Esco, Wayne Marshall, Kiprich, Bounty Killer, Lutan Fyah and Cherine Anderson. International hip hop artiste Chingy is also a part of the effort.
"Entertainers locally and internationally are always involved. Russell Simmons and his wife, Kimora Simmons, always sponsor and support the programmes. Last year Doug E. Fresh and Loon performed at the 'Glow', the after party," said Sandra Fraser, executive director of Upliftment Jamaica.
According to Fraser, on one of Foster's visits back home he noticed that there was no industry, no jobs and no livelihood in St. Thomas. In addition, the Goodyear Factory was no longer in operation.
He and some friends pulled together various resources and Upliftment Jamaica was born. Through his contact with Def Jam Records, he was able to get other organisations, locally and internationally, on board the St. Thomas restoration project.
organisations include
These organisations include Lasco, Glaxcosmithkline, Nutramix, Cable and Wireless, National Commercial Bank (NCB), Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Air Jamaica, Puma, Phat Farm, Run Athletics,Vibe Magazine, Rush Communications and Def Jam Records, Jamaica Biscuit Company, Tastee and various small businesses in and around the parish.
In 2003 Russell Simmons donated a netball and basketball court to the White Horses community in St. Thomas. In that same year, Upliftment Jamaica acquired 20 computers from AOL Time Warner and a room on the grounds of the White Horses Methodist Church, which serves multiple functions. It is used for the office of Upliftment Jamaica, the health centre for Dr. Desmond Poyser's free clinic, and a computer centre. Dr. Poyser, the medical director for Upliftment Jamaica, comes to the office from Portland once a month to see at least 25 patients.
The computers are heavily utilised on a weekly basis. Twenty Heart Trust/NTA students use them four days a week for data operations. Twenty public sector employees and three groups of
20 basic school children also visit the office and learn to use the
computers.
In addition, high school and college students use the them to do assignments and projects. Another set of 40 students from the Heart Trust/NTA programme use the computers for restaurant and housekeeping courses.
Upliftment Jamaica opens up
Besides the year-long opportunities that Upliftment Jamaica opens up, there are scheduled activities which take place once a year, the dates for 2005 being December 8 - 11.
"This year the weekend kicked off with a health fair and we carried about 30 - 40 doctors from all over the United States to come to Jamaica and offer their services to persons," said Gary Foster. The health fair was scheduled for December 8 and 9. Two companies which are providing doctors this year are H2H, a health communications company in Maryland, and Bridge To Care.
Upliftment Jamaica also has education symposia dealing with poverty and general education. Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Dr. Darin Moore are two of the speakers scheduled for the welcome reception and the church service, respectively.
In addition to the functions, every year a 'Tech Conference' is held in July. This year the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) brought in a flight simulator and people of all sizes and shapes got to choose whatever aircraft they wanted to 'fly'.
"I chose the 1950s bomber, dropping water, not bombs, but just as difficult," Sandra Fraser said. "At this year's Tech Conference, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell declared that the Goodyear building would be given to Upliftment Jamaica to be used for a 21st century Skills Training Centre."
In addition, many ideas were brought to the fore. "NASA has a lot of ideas for the space at the Goodyear Factory. We're thinking about offering call-centre training, early childhood education, carpentry, upholstery, welding and sustainable development projects. For these projects we are looking for markets for agro-processing, furniture and garment production, with our connection with Phat Farm and other clothing lines regionally," Fraser said.
They will officially take up residence at the Goodyear Factory next year. Fraser reports that the need in St. Thomas, and hence the rest of the country, is unlimited. "I've been with Upliftment Jamaica for one year now. I live close by, I had no idea there was so much need. People come constantly for things," she said.
The organisation also tries to place people in programmes. "There are people who are not sure what they can do and we take them and try and find out their skills and try and help them. We place 250 children in over 13 schools between St. Thomas and Kingston. I was appalled to see how many children, weren't in school," Fraser said.
The adults also need schooling. "Adult illiteracy is a problem. We need software that teaches children to read and software that helps children with learning disabilities," said Fraser.
sporting activities
Upliftment Jamaica also offers various sporting activities for the community. There is football (male and female), netball, track and field, cycling, domino, ludo, checkers and others. "The trophy and prize money for the competition come from abroad. We need more local support in health and education. There's a lot more that could happen and there's a lot more need," Fraser said.
Hard work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and the six-year-old organisation believes in fun and games.
"For the past five years we have been having our annual weekend gala in Jamaica. On the Saturday night, that's when we have the 'Black Tie Gala Night' in the parish of St. Thomas. A part of the team that helps to transform the community for the event is from various designer companies," said Gary Foster.
The organisers make it possible for the people of St. Thomas to enjoy themselves at their after party, 'Elevation' "We have an After Party on Saturday night after the gala and this is free, where all the celebrities will be present. We have selected entertainers, we try to blend in some of the local with international," Foster said.
Fraser said the Simmons family is fully behind the organisation. "Russell and his wife are always on board, whether they are here or not. The entire family was in attendance last year. They are some of our greatest supporters, emotionally and financially," she said.
