Governor General's Achievement Awards - Kingston

2011 Youth Award of Excellence, Kingston

THE ISSUE of unemployment and lack of skills among Jamaican youths have been the focus of many of the country's educators and even among youths themselves.

Jerome Cowan, the 2011 Youth Award of Excellence recipient for Kingston said he believes that if more unattached youths were given the opportunity to hone a viable skill, the number of delinquents in the society would diminish.

"Unattached youths are usually the persons who create the problems. They are unemployed, but, basically, if they get a skill and they can make themselves better, with regards to getting jobs," he said.

Cowan hails from the inner-city community of Parade Gardens, downtown Kingston, and he was determined that he would stay on the right path, and not become a part of crime statistics, as well as to avoid the violence, which claimed the lives of several of his close friends.

"I live in an inner-city community. I really try to go out there and show them that irrespective of where you are from, you can go out there and represent yourself. I work with Rise Life Management Services and one of the programmes that was offered is that we did corner counselling, and I think that was very effective. We went on some of the corners and when you get on the ground you get a feel of what exactly is needed," Cowan said.

He is president of the LEAD Youth Club, an organisation which secured more than 20 tertiary scholarships for students in his community. Cowan also served as vice-president of the Parade Gardens CDC Benevolent Society, president of the Kingston Youth Council, and was a member of the National Youth Parliament.

Although his family constantly experience severe financial constraints, Cowan chose to become a dedicated, hard-working young man. Today the confident and self-motivated 21-year-old, is a final-year student at The University of the West Indies, where he is pursuing a bachelor of science degree in economics and public-sector management.

Joan McDonald, JP

2011 award recipient, Kingston

Joan McDonald is widely known as the first Miss Jamaica World, having won the inaugural beauty pageant in 1978, and represented Jamaica at the Miss World event in the United Kingdom. She has also served her country as a cultural ambassador in Europe and in the United States of America.

The first of five children, McDonald attended St Joseph's Infant and Primary School and Grantham College, a private secondary school. McDonald served for two years in the National Youth Service, in the Occupational Therapy Department at the Bellevue Hospital and credits that experience as the genesis of her interest in serving persons with special needs.

She was born in Kingston to Beatrice and Albert McDonald. Her family resided in the heart of downtown Kingston and they had a good life. Her family members attended the Kingston Parish Church where McDonald gained the spiritual strength to sustain her during challenging times.

Cognisant of the need to further her education, McDonald attended the then Cultural Training Centre, now the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts, where she pursued dancing at The School of Dance. After graduation, she taught dance and during that period she was encouraged by Bert Rose and the late Professor Rex Nettleford to enter the Miss Jamaica World competition.

Public service

McDonald has distinguished herself in public service by working with many community groups and non-governmental organisations. She has been a branch director at the Jamaica Red Cross, Kingston and St Andrew, director of the Lions Club of Kingston; volunteer trainer for the Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections; project manager of the National Registry of Volunteers at the Council of Voluntary Social Services and Outreach Coordinator for the Canadian Women's Club.

As a Justice of the Peace, McDonald was a director and public-relations officer of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica and a trained facilitator for Restorative and Community Justice Practices. Her name is synonymous with event planning. She is a personal-development coach and has been a grooming consultant for Miss Jamaica World Pageants and Miss Festival Queen competition.