Letter of the Day | Gifts of national transformation
Published:Tuesday | January 13, 2026 | 12:07 AM
THE EDITOR, Madam:
As in the biblical story of the Magi (Wise Men), Jamaica in 2025 received three gifts or stories that must be told, as they are models for national transformation rooted, not in rhetoric, but in value-centred programmes powered by skilled training and the creative arts.
The first gift came in a conversation with Stephen ‘Bomber’ Jones, president of the Jamaica Boxing Association. With bright conviction, he described the Gloves Over Gun Programme, a partnership with the YMCA. This initiative targets boys with behavioural challenges and channels their energy into the discipline of boxing, with support from counselling and therapy. The stories he shared – boys once written off now discovering discipline, confidence, and purpose – speak to the quiet miracles happening beyond the spotlight. Boxing becomes not violence but virtue; not aggression but the agency of transformation.
The second gift was highlighted in The Gleaner feature on December 28, 2025, which focused on the Grade 7 Academy at Holy Trinity High School. Run by St Michael’s College in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the academy offers an adjusted curriculum in remedial reading, writing, and numeracy for vulnerable students who enter far behind. The results are astounding: 70 per cent of participants made dramatic gains, with many moving up two grade levels in a single year. This transformation is rooted in skill-building and patient, value-driven accompaniment.
The third gift, reported on December 29, details the Child Resilience Programme, which supports children and families in downtown Kingston and is backed by Project STAR and the Scotiabank Foundation. As coordinator, Myshka Allen noted that the initiative aims to create “long-term, measurable change”. It is working. “I wasn’t reading before; now I can read … I was shy before; now I’m outspoken,” one child shared with pride. A father added: “He is now more disciplined … and knows how to conduct himself better in public.”
These programmes are value-centred laboratories for national transformation. Jamaica has long admired how Cuba, despite ideological flaws, used science, the arts, and sport to instil discipline, cultural pride, and social cohesion.
The question now is not whether transformation is possible, but whether we are willing to invest in models that already work. Can we recognise the gifts we receive and replicate them nationwide? Jamaica’s future depends on it
FR DONALD CHAMBERS