The Jamaica Diaspora and Friends Champion Awards (JDAFCA) has named 12 Jamaica Diaspora Champions for 2021 who have emerged from hundreds of nominations and thousands of votes and will accept their awards during a ceremony tonight in recognition of Diaspora Day.

The public can watch the Jamaica Diaspora Champions 2021 accept their awards starting at 7 pm US ET on Jamaicans.com’s Facebook page: @onelovejamaica.

Among the award winners are the Steve Mcdonald-founded Yaad Market, which is being recognised as the champion in agriculture and climate resilience, and Miramar Commissioner Alexandra P. Davis, who has been named champion in art and culture.

The other winners are:

• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Community Development – Keri-Ann Knight
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion Community Development Organization – The Association of Jamaican Nationals in France, accepted by current President, Oneil Madden
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Education – Dr Beverly E. Rowe-Mullings
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion Alumni Association – Immaculate Conception High School Alumnae Association – NY Chapter, accepted by current President, Karen Wilson-Robinson
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Faith Based Leadership – Bishop Michael A. Hutchinson
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in  Health and Mental Health – Sylvanus Thompson
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Legal Sector Support and Immigration – Latangie A. Williams
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Media – Xavier Murphy
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in Technology and Entrepreneurship – David P. A. Mullings
• The Jamaica Diaspora Champion in  Taskforce Leadership – Dr. Beverly Gordon

“Congratulations to all the champions,” said Leo Gilling, chairman of the Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network (JDTAN), the organisation responsible for the awards.

“JDTAN’s aim was to present an award to the Diaspora, in which no one person or committee but the community, the general public nominates and votes for those candidates based on their accomplishments in Jamaica, their community, and across the Diaspora. I am encouraged by the massive response during the nomination and voting process. Thank you for supporting these champions and making JDAFCA a success.”

The voting was reportedly very competitive with, in many cases, only a handful of votes separating the winners.

Special mention was also made of those who received the second-highest number of votes, including Trees That Feed Foundation, Susan ‘Dr Sue’ Davis, Dr Binzie Roy Davidson, Michelle McKenzie-Dolly and Charles Matthews Jr as well as the remaining 60 final nominees. The profiles of the winners and all honorably mentioned nominees can be viewed on www.jdafca.org.

The JDAFCA is the first global and virtual Jamaica Diaspora peer award with completely open and online nominations and voting. It was created to recognise individuals, organisations, and friends in the Diaspora who make exceptional contributions to the development of Jamaica. JDAFCA was launched in 2017 at the 7th Biennial Diaspora Conference and honours hardworking volunteers, all those unsung heroes, who give freely in service to the growth of Jamaica’s national development, Her culture, economy, people, and communities.

JDAFCA sponsor GraceKennedy Group extended congratulations to the winners with Senator Don Wehby, the group’s chief executive officer stating: “GraceKennedy is a proud supporter of the JDTAN and sponsor of the JDAFCA. We are happy to know that notwithstanding the challenges which continue to be presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the JDTAN has found new ways to continue its important work to recognise individuals and organisations in the Diaspora and friends of Jamaica who make exceptional contributions to the development of our country.”

He added: “Congratulations to all the JDAFCA nominees for the amazing work you are doing in this regard, and for everything you do for Jamaica, land we love. I encourage all Jamaicans overseas to become Diaspora Champions in their own right, by doing what you can to help our country rebuild coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Kimone Gooden, JDAFCA chair and JDTAN operations officer commented: “The 2021 Jamaica Diaspora Champions are a true example of service and commitment to our beloved homeland. I am blown away by the work of all the nominees as well as the winners. They are great models of the extraordinary work that ordinary Jamaicans do in service to Jamaica every day. They are  truly inspiring.” 

Gooden also thanked sponsors GraceKennedy, Union of Jamaican Alumni Association, The Fanger Law Firm PLLC, Compass Consulting and Training Solutions, and media partners Dervan Malcolm, host of Diaspora Live Online on Power 106, South Florida Caribbean News, Jamaicans.com, Caribbean National Weekly News and Carib Press.

Special thanks were also expressed to the JDAFCA Awards Committee for all their hard work behind the scenes: Event Chair, Tashaka Wynter as well as Antonette Brown, Rachel Dolcine, Karlene Largie, Roymane Robinson, and Lesleyann Samuel.

The virtual awards presentation will include Master of Ceremonies, Professor Neville Ying; a stalwart in the Jamaica Diaspora Movement, and the first Jamaica Diaspora Champion, as well as entertainment by Papa Michigan and Dr Sue.

 The replay of the virtual ceremony will also be available on www.jdafaca.org.

The JDTAN is a network of sectoral focused taskforces with members across 23 countries which have been operating for the past seven years as a collaborative approach to engage and mobilise the Diaspora to join forces and support Jamaica’s national development.