In joining Jamaica’s celebration of the selfless act of bravery and kindness by five students of the BB Coke High School in St Elizabeth, on Tuesday, Digicel invited the boys to its corporate offices for a special honour. 

The group dubbed, “Ambassadors for Good” by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, comprise: Daejuan Gordon, Gary Bartley, Khari Green, Dejaun Powell and Leon Barnes. They gained nationwide recognition after their selfless act of carrying their injured schoolmate, Jaheim, to hospital on foot shortly after a vicious attack by another student was captured on video.

“It feels really good to be honoured, especially because we were all just looking out for our friend. Thank you so much,” said Leon, a ninth-grader whose quick action rallied his friends to assist Jaheim with getting urgent medical attention.

For their unselfish deeds, Digicel committed to providing tuition assistance to support the boys in managing their academic expenses. Additionally, the young heroes were presented with Samsung tablets, Youth Plan SIM cards with one year of free data and calls, bookstore vouchers, phone credit, and cricket memorabilia bearing the signatures of West Indies greats. Digicel also committed similar support for injured student, Jaheim Colman, who is still recuperating in hospital.

CEO of Digicel, Stephen Murad, further extended a warm and heartfelt welcome to the boys by taking them on a tour of the company’s iconic headquarters in downtown Kingston. Murad beamed, “We’ve had the absolute pleasure of having these heroes in the building. They are great role models and you could see their passion and pride as they put their friend first before anything else. Digicel and the entire nation are immensely proud of them.”

A proud BB Coke High guidance counsellor, Raoul Chambers, welcomed Digicel’s kindness and the wider national admiration for the high-school heroes: “It’s been a while since we’ve seen young boys really help other students, especially with the inclination to grab their phones and turn to social media. But, these boys really live up to our lesson that unity is the way to go and together, we build. These kind gestures go a long way, so thank you Digicel for showing your appreciation to them.”

Echoing similar sentiments was principal (acting) Liteashia Gallimore, who hopes that the boys will serve as role models to young people, and encourage others to always do the right thing.