Advertorial | JICA and Edna Manley College connect through music and volunteerism

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts have connected through music and volunteerism.

JICA's volunteer programme provided access to high quality musicians and music educators and this aided us in a significant way, expressed Andre Adman, Dean of the School of Music at Edna Manley.

Japanese volunteers, Kayo Yoshida and Yuko Aoki, were posted to the School of Music in 2015 and 2018 respectively and both musicians were highly competent, open, and professional in their conduct.

These positive qualities made them a very good complement to the School of Music.

The students and faculty across the programmes benefitted greatly from the cultural learning experience and much growth occurred as a result of the interaction.

Through the volunteers' affiliation, JICA assisted with infrastructural needs at the School of Music. This support led to the donation of air conditioning units, amplifiers, guitars, keyboards, piano benches, and classroom instruments. Those timely and necessary interventions have positively impacted the service quality that the school aims to provide for its students while alleviating other issues that prevented the institution from achieving its objectives.

The partnership between both institutions is marked by human and infrastructural support which aided the operations of the School of Music in a tremendous way.

The School of Music at Edna Manley College is appreciative of the unwavering support from the team at the Japan International Cooperation Agency in Jamaica and looks forward to the return of JICA volunteer Yuko Aoki in February 2023.

We no doubt will continue to strengthen and expand this mutually beneficial relationship.