World Bank President, Ajay Banga, has high praises for Jamaica's current economic health, noting that “your country has managed your macro situation very well”.

“It is not the same for many developing countries, which took on a great deal of debt when interest rates were low, both international and domestic debt,” he noted.

Greenhouse farmers here are hopeful that the expansion of a cluster near here will be realized soon following Wednesday's historic visit by World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.

The Integrated Community Development Project II (ICDP-II), which is funded by the Government of Jamaica, supported 6 projects within 4 communities on National Labour Day 2023. The JSIF partnered with the Ministry of Education & Youth, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the local police, Community Development Committees and Curfew Monitors from the respective communities, to rehabilitate the Math Resource Room at St. Alban’s Primary and Infant School; minor rehabilitation and clean-up at the Denham Town Police Station; rehabilitation of playfield and park at August Town Primary School, and improvement of the physical environment at 6 ZOSO checkpoints in St. James.  In keeping with this year’s theme ‘Plant a Tree for Life – Promoting Climate Change Mitigation, Food Security and Road Safety’, trees were also planted at each location, where the Day’s activities took place.

The fisherwoman, who owns a boat with the same name as her business place ‘Kasalegna’, has had a long association with the JSIF. It started in 2014 when she was the recipient of a chest freezer (deep freeze), an igloo (cooler) and a weigh scale. By then, two freezers she owned had stopped working and she was without a scale.

“When I got the new one (deep freeze), it helped me to set more ice to sell to fishermen. And I used to have to be borrowing people’s scale. So I don’t have to borrow people’s scale no more,” she declared.

In addition to selling fishing, Shaw-Gonzales also generates income from selling buckets of ice to other fisherfolk. She tries to give back from her earnings but the needs are many, she admits. They range from helping to provide school uniforms, lunch money, school shoes and bags to bus fare for young students.

In addition, she is a member of the Greenwich Town Fishing Beach executive, which administers affairs on behalf of the fishing community.