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Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett (right) pauses for a photo opportunity ahead of the Harmonies of Hope relief concert with Dr Wes Hall, chancellor of the University of Toronto, and Dr Donette Chin-Loy Chang, chancellor of the Toronto Metropolitan Unive
December 22, 2025 by Sophia Findlay

JTB Canada’s ‘Harmonies of Hope’ concert raises CDN$3m for Melissa relief

In a display of global solidarity and national pride, the Jamaican diaspora in Canada has delivered one of the largest single contributions to the island’s Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts, raising…
Students of Chester Castle Basic and Primary School pose for a photo.
December 22, 2025

Chester Castle Basic and Primary School gets a fresh beginning

Thanks to a grant from the German Embassy, Chester Castle Basic and Primary School in Hanover has begun to breathe again after the devastation of Hurricane Melissa. The school lost its entire roof,…
Dr Rebecca Tortello (second right), education specialist at the United Nations Children’s Fund, leads a conversation on the National Early Screening Pathway document with (from left) Dr Emre Ozaltin, lead economist for the Caribbean at the World Bank; P
December 22, 2025

Financing, data, and equity issues challenge early childhood education in Latin America, the Caribbean

Strengthening early childhood education in Latin America and the Caribbean will require better financing, stronger data systems, and more inclusive services, experts addressing a recent panel…
People engage with JN+ staff members during their health camp at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay.
December 22, 2025

JN+ strengthens HIV response after Hurricane Melissa

In moments of crisis, disruptions to healthcare, medication access, transportation, and essential services can have serious consequences for People Living with HIV (PLHIV).
December 22, 2025

Study: This tiny protein helps control how hungry you feel

WASHINGTON DC (ANI): Researchers have identified a previously overlooked protein that helps regulate appetite and energy use in the body. This ‘helper’ protein supports a key system that decides…
Hurricane relief supplies were recently distributed by the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) to residents of eastern Hanover – with a tent being donated to the Jericho Primary School. In photo from left: Andria Dehaney-Grant, councillor and
December 22, 2025

Eastern Hanover welcomes BGLC hurricane relief

Residents of Eastern Hanover in the communities of Jericho, Retrieve, and Morris have welcomed recent hurricane supplies of tarpaulins, tents, mattresses, and household packages by the Betting Gaming…
Robertha Carter (left), pharmacy technician, National Health Fund, presents to Dorrett Burton her free prescription drugs after seeing the doctor at the Hurricane Recovery Health Clinic in Thornton, St Elizabeth.
December 22, 2025

Melissa, a blessing?

In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, Andrews Memorial Hospital Limited, Allkare Wellness Foundation, and the Andrews Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church staged its Hurricane Recovery…
Professor Elsa Leo-Rhynie (left), former chair of the Dudley Grant Memorial Trust, has the captive attention of (from second left) Professor Zoyah Kinkead-Clark, Early Childhood Care and Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI); Alma Jean Panton,
December 22, 2025

Dudley Grant: Visionary architect of early childhood education

Despite all its ongoing challenges, the current early childhood sector is a far cry from what it was prior to the revolutionary intervention and impact of Dudley Grant. For more than a century, early…
Alisha Distant paused from her work at her desk for a quick photo op.
December 22, 2025

Turning hardship into hope

Some stories show how strength, humility, and joy can exist in the same person. The journey of Alisha Distant, Red Stripe’s 2024 Employee of the Year, does exactly that. Her life is not only a record…