20 Feb, 2018
The Balaclava Health Centre, renovated with a $14.3 million grant from CHASE was officially re-opened in Balaclava, St. Elizabeth on December 7, 2017.
The Balaclava Health Centre
Author: chase_admin
Voices for Hospices
19 Feb, 2018
The National Chorale of Jamaica perform at Voices for Hospices at the University Chapel on October 14, 2017. The CHASE Fund sponsored the concert which was staged by the Consie Walters Cancer Treatment Centre in recognition of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.
Nursing Education
‘A Road to Excellence: A History of Basic Nursing Education at the UHWI’ which documents the establishment and evolution of the University Hospital School of Nursing, was launched at the UHWI on November 2, 2017. CHASE supported the publication of the book with an award of $1,055,300
CHASE Fund Continues Support for Reggae Month
01 Feb, 2018
The CHASE Fund is committing $3 million to support the mounting of the 10th renewal of “Reggae Month” this month. Contribution to Reggae Month falls under the Fund’s Arts and Culture portfolio.
Chief Executive Officer of the CHASE Fund, W. Billy Heaven, said that JaRIA continues to provide a stage not just for quality entertainment but also the opportunity to learn more about reggae music and the industry. “I thank JaRIA for encouraging serious dialogue on maximizing the potential of the industry at its Music Symposium, but most importantly I thank them for broadening the participation of Jamaicans by continuing to make many of these activities free to the public,” he said.
The Reggae Month enterprise has been strengthened with the assistance of funding from the CHASE Fund in the sum of approximately $30 million over nine years with special consideration given to the Reggae Industry Honour Awards.
TAMAR LAMBERT COPS 2016 COURTNEY WALSH AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE
12 Dec, 2016
Former cricketer Tamar Lambert was named the 2016 recipient of the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence at an award ceremony on December 7th at the Terra Nova Hotel. The Courtney Walsh Award Selection Committee chose Lambert from a short list which included female cricketer, Stefanie Taylor and retired football goalkeeper, Warren Barrett.
Lambert represented Jamaica at every level of the game from the time he started playing at Spanish Town Primary School, and to this day remains Jamaica’s most successful cricket captain ever.
He expanded his prowess as a leader from primary level to Jonathan Grant High School, which is situated in the heart of his birthplace, Spanish Town, where he marshalled their troops through one of their most glittering periods on the vast cricketing landscape.
With Lambert at the helm, Jonathan Grant High won the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Under-14 and Under-16 titles corporate area titles.
Under his stewardship, the school also came very close to winning the premier corporate area title, the Sunlight Cup. However, they lost in the final not once, not twice, but on three occasions. Their nemesis on each occasion, Kingston College. An all-rounder who bats right-hander and bowls right-arm off-spin, Lambert’s greatest successes though were yet to come, as it is while leading the Jamaica senior cricket team that he made his biggest mark.
From 2008-2012, he led Jamaica to an unprecedented five consecutive triumphs in the regional four-day championship. To top it off, the last victory represented a marvelous milestone for Jamaica not only from the historical standpoint, but also that it occurred in the year the country celebrated its 50th anniversary.
All told, Lambert captained Jamaica to six four-day regional championships.
The first one under his direction came in 2005, exactly one year after he was promoted as captain, at age 23, of the senior cricket team. Lambert also led Jamaica to two regional Super50 titles, in 2007 and 2011, plus two play-off shields.
In a newspaper interview published after Jamaica had secured its fifth consecutive title, the soft-spoken Lambert aptly summed up his leadership qualities. “I have been captain all my life, so whatever team I play on, I normally captain it,” he said. “People just see the natural leadership skills in me and I am a student of the game, so they always think that I am the best person to lead.”
Camp Savannah Basic School
12 Aug, 2016
In stark contrast to its condition a few years ago, the Camp Savannah Basic School now boasts a new nine-classroom building with modern fixtures, furniture, and other amenities for the convenience for its more than 200 students and seven teachers. The plight of the School, located in Camp Savannah, Westmoreland – a community which, for many years, was plagued by gang violence – was first brought to the CHASE Fund’s attention by the Jamaica Constabulary Force Community Safety and Security Branch. The institution was initially housed in a large wooden building that was constructed by a team of foreign volunteers after the Wesleyan Holiness Church which it occupied previously was destroyed by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The building, which was separated into four classrooms by chalkboard partitions, had fallen into disrepair. The school was over-crowded; students and teachers shared bathroom facilities; and lunch was provided from the home of a community member, as the kitchen had been converted into classroom space. With the CHASE intervention, the institution is now ECC compliant.
1907 Earthquake Monument
11 Aug, 2016
CHASE awarded $6,000,000 in support of a $25M, multi-agency project to restore the once forgotten monument and to improve the immediate environs to make the site into a secure and accessible attraction and mark of a major historical event. Through the efforts of the Tourism Enhancement Fund, the Tourism Product Development Company, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, the Social Development Commission, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and others the restoration works were substantially completed and an official unveiling ceremony held in January 2016.
Addressing the possibility of an outbreak of the Zika virus in Jamaica
To adequately address the possibility of an outbreak of the Zika virus in Jamaica, CHASE approved financial support for the Ministry of Health’s Vector Control Management Programme. Funding was used to strengthen the laboratory at the UWI Department of Microbiology with the purchase of equipment and chemicals for Zika testing; training of vector control workers; and the purchase of five vehicles for use in the field.
Mandeville Regional Hospital – X-Ray Unit
The Mandeville Regional Hospital (MRH) is the main referral hospital for the Southern Regional Health Authority and thus the majority of high-risk and critical patients are seen at this facility. The Radiology Department sees approximately 40,000 in and out patients per year and this high patient load can result in frequent downtimes of a unit. An additional X-Ray unit was acquired by CHASE to provide continuous services to approximately 200 patients daily.
Reggae Month 2016 Gets a Boost from CHASE
Reggae Month 2016 “Reggae Mekya” marked the 8th staging of Reggae Month by the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA). The month-long celebration of Reggae music is geared towards highlighting the impact of the genre on the country’s social, cultural and economic development while sharpening the focus and drawing the attention of the world to this powerful Jamaican asset. CHASE approved support of $4M for the Reggae Honour Awards and the Music Symposium which were two of the signature events on the Reggae Month 2016 calendar.
