The Intersection of Gender, Culture and Education: Jamaica: The Next 50 Years!

The perfect world only exits on the silver screens. As mere mortals we face eventualities in our lives daily, and as such we must not rush to cast judgment on others. Last Friday, September 14, 2018 I had an appointment at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) at 1 pm.   My appointment was made six months ago as a follow up to ongoing allergy issues. I am sure most of you have never heard of Urticaria before. According to the Mayo Clinic urticaria or hives are red, itchy welts that results from a skin reaction. The welts vary in size and appear and fade repeatedly as the reaction runs its course. Individuals dealing with this condition often have significant disruption to their daily lives. It is often a slow and uncomfortable condition to deal with.   During this period your skin itches like crazy and if you are not careful you end up damaging your skin by the constant scratching. Urticaria is considered chronic if the welts appear for more than six weeks and re...

I must admit I was among the generation of Jamaicans who prior to September 12, 1988 did not experience a hurricane.   Yes, there was a bit of excitement somewhere within me when I heard that hurricane Gilbert was on a path to Jamaica. I wanted to see, and feel what a hurricane was like. I was a teenager then and of course if I knew then what would happen I would clearly exchange that stressful experience in a second.   My parents would have lived through hurricanes Charlie in 1951 and Flora in 1963; however, they did not speak much about those events. September 12, 1988 was no ordinary day. It was a September to remember for those who survived. The island of Jamaica was devastated by a powerful category 3 hurricane named Gilbert. Forty five (45) deaths were attributed to the passing of the hurricane. It was estimated that more than 500, 000 Jamaicans were homeless after the hurricane. Additionally, billions of dollars in damages to property and livestock were...

Where has the water gone? The residents of McArthur Avenue located off Hagley Park Road were without water since Tuesday evening, thankfully, the water supply returned Thursday night. However, the pressure is unusually low.   It is unacceptable that calls to the National Water Commission (NWC) Customer Call Care Centre line go unanswered. On those moments when you are fortunate enough to speak to a customer service ambassador at the NWC they are only apologetic for the inconvenience and this is definitely not good enough. I strongly suggest that more training be given to the customer service representatives in order for them to be more responsive to the needs of the customers. We need some answers among them when will the water return? I am appealing to the National Water Commission in the interim to at least truck water to those communities in which the residents have no water in order to alleviate the this   inconvenience and plight which is taking a toll on all of us. The N...

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 422 million worldwide have diabetes. There are approximately 220, 000 Jamaicans with diabetes between the ages of 10 to 74 years. This translates to 13.6% of the population. The WHO states that the number of people with diabetes has almost quadrupled since 1980. Data provided by the WHO indicates that prevalence is increasing worldwide, particularly in low and middle income countries due in part to the increase in the number of people who are overweight. As societies develop and technology increases there is a corresponding tendency for many of us to become physically inactive, and this undoubtedly is an open invitation for non communicable diseases. This is troubling not only for the individuals and their families who must deal with this reality, but also for the country on a whole since diabetes usually strikes those in the prime of their lives who are the most productive. Sadly, many Jamaicans struggle to keep this life threat...