The High Commission of Canada in Jamaica has rolled out its nine projects that received grants through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). 

A total of J$27 million [CAD$230,000] has been awarded to local and regional organisations to support various community interventions, including crime prevention, women’s empowerment through entrepreneurship opportunities, and pandemic-related challenges. Approximately $6 million of the funding will go to the National Crime Prevention Fund/Crime Stop and the Jamaica Professional Youth Workers Association to curtail crime and violence in vulnerable communities in Kingston and Clarendon.

At the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives Partner Forum event, held at the High Commission on November 10, High Commissioner Emina Tudakovic congratulated the grantees on the success of their projects to date. 

“This year, the Canada Fund is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and our continued investments through the CFLI demonstrate our commitment to helping vulnerable groups and communities realize a safe and just society. Canada looks forward to the successful implementation of these projects and the positive impact they will have on the lives of many Jamaicans,” said Tudakovic.

NINE PROJECT RECIPIENTS

The nine project recipients will implement activities to address social and economic issues for the 2022–2023 period. The organisations are:

• Abilities Foundation
• Brand New Start Foundation
• Jamaica International Women in Coffee Alliance
• National Crime Prevention Fund
• Jamaica Professional Youth Workers Association
• Rejuvenation Pathway Resource Centre
• Transwave
• Young Women of Purpose
• Caribbean Training and Education Centre for Health

Abilities Foundation will strategically engage and empower women with disabilities by improving their sustainable farming techniques to encourage food security for their families and communities. Activities include training sessions in agriculture, entrepreneurial business plan development and the staging of a farmers’ market.

Brand New Start Foundation is implementing the Inspired Girls: Creating Pathways of Success for At-Risk Young Women project in Portmore, St Catherine. The project aims to enable 60 young women ages 15–25 to improve their employability. The project will train them in in-demand career skills, conducting an eight-week Inspired Girls Career Development Workshop Series, and place them in internships. The project will have a particular reach for young women engaged in sex work on the ‘Portmore Back Road’.

With impressive results from last year, the High Commission again supported the International Women Coffee Alliance project in Mavis Bank, St Andrew. The main goal of this project is to increase the capacity of 35 women coffee farmers through training and the provision of resources that will improve their coffee production and quality and strengthen their participation within the coffee value chain.

Based in Clarendon, the Jamaica Professional Youth Workers Association (JPYWA) has received funding to develop a youth-led crime prevention platform for volatile communities in Clarendon. The project will engage youth from Clarendon Police Youth Clubs to understand and address youth violence. Seventy young men and women will benefit. JPYWA will also collaborate with the Clarendon Community Safety and Security Branch under the Ministry of National Security.

The National Crime Prevention Fund/ Crime Stop will promote crime reduction, prevention, and conflict resolution by engaging residents from three crime-prone communities across Kingston, specifically Rose Gardens, Rae Town, and Dunkirk.

In addition, through its partnership with the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Community Safety and Security Branch, Crime Stop Jamaica will engage 25 communities through rap sessions with at-risk youth discussing crime prevention measures, including using Crime Stop’s anonymous channels to give information on criminal activities within their communities. Other activities include community walks and mural paintings for each community.

Skyline Education Resource Centre will provide support to 25 parents in Old Harbour, St Catherine, and their children to participate in child resilience and education stimulation workshops, build a community education and learning centre, host a four-week community summer school, and create and distribute art & crafts educational packages to participating children.

TransWave’s project is focused on promoting peace, safety, and healing for the transgender community. Under the proposed project, TransWave Jamaica will undertake a set of actions to promote a safer and more inclusive society for transgender and gender non-conforming Jamaicans.

Young Women of Purpose implementing the REAP (Realise, Embrace, Achieve Your Purpose) Women Entrepreneurship Project in Manchester. The project provides training in entrepreneurship, business management, mentorship and equipment and tools needed to start or grow businesses for young women who are victims of violence and abuse, unemployed, are not in school, or have lost their livelihoods due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The High Commission has also awarded a regional project grant for the first time. The Caribbean Training and Education Center for Health (C-TECH) has received funding to support the psychological health and wellbeing of frontline workers in Jamaica and the nine Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries and associated members in the Eastern Caribbean.

Through the project, entitled ‘Support and Education for Long Life through Frontline Workers CARE Project (SELF CARE Project)’, C-TECH makes available an online hub of mental health resources, information, webinars, and online educational courses to over 5,000 frontline workers, i.e., health care workers, social workers, and teachers.