They were honoured at the Commission’s Legacy and Resilience Luncheon 2026, held at the AC Hotel by Marriott in Kingston, on August 12.

Categories recognised were112 long service, 25 retirees, 16 special awards, and 20 executive awards.

The event formed part of the SDC’s staff development initiative, which is designed to recognise dedicated service, promote employee wellness and strengthen staff morale.

In his address, Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, said staff members have played an integral role in the development of the SDC, which has made significant strides in improving the social landscape of Jamaica.

“No one can erase what the SDC has done within the last 10 to 15 years to develop the social landscape of this country… . You can measure the commitment and strength of an organisation through its [resourcefulness and impact],” he said.

The overarching strategic direction of the SDC is to advance the economic development of communities through an Integrated Community Development Strategy (ICDS).

The ICDS is based on a strong community governance mechanism, reliable data for evidence-based planning and community responses through projects aimed at addressing priority issues. The main national priority for this period is that of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

Minister McKenzie noted also that the Commission’s work in communities across Jamaica has been instrumental in informing government directive.

For his part, Executive Director of the SDC, Omar Frith, said the event recognises the tireless service and dedication of scores of staff – past and present – who have shaped the present structure of the organisation.

“To our retirees we thank you. You have given years of your life to this institution. The SDC we see today stands as it is in part based on the foundation you would have set. To our long service and special recipients, your recognition represents your commitment, your sacrifice, your professionalism and, of course, your service. We appreciate you,” he said.

The SDC is the principal community organisation working with Jamaica’s 775 communities.

Positioned in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, the SDC continues to execute its legal mandate to promote and oversee programmes and activities that serve the advancement of sport, social, cultural and economic development for the people of Jamaica and workers in particular.

The SDC’s approach to community development is in line with international best practices where communities are involved in identifying and designing strategies aimed at improving quality of life.

Addressing the launch of Operation Clearing, Advising, Leveraging and Maintaining (CALM) in Whitehouse, Westmoreland, recently, Mr. Gordon said the initiative is built on strong partnerships that encourage citizens to become active participants in protecting their communities.

“CALM is also very much understanding of the need for partnership. So, we leverage community leadership… . If all of us look out for our little space [and] our neighbour’s space, with everybody looking out, can you imagine what we would have? A very clean community,” he said.

Mr. Gordon argued that churches, schools, community organisations, fisherfolk and residents all have important roles to play in promoting responsible waste management and disaster preparedness.

He encouraged church leaders to use their influence to promote environmental stewardship among their congregations.

“Being a good steward of the environment doesn’t stop at the church gate. As a matter of fact, we Christians are to lead by example. We are to demonstrate by our conduct, and that’s the best sermon you can preach with the life that you live,” he said.

Mr. Gordon further emphasised that while the Government continues to provide equipment, labour and public education, residents must also play an active role in keeping their communities clean and resilient.

” [The] Government has a role to play; [however], the community also has a role to play, which is why we want community leadership to be part and parcel of the initiative,” he said.

The NSWMA Head maintained that stronger community participation will help reduce blocked drains, illegal dumping and other hazards that contribute to flooding during the hurricane season.

The Ministry of National Security and Peace’s Liv Gud Anti-Violence Market Movement Campaign is taking roots in least Thirteen major markets across the island. Through this collaborative effort countless peace ambassadors have been dispatched into our markets to support peaceful interactions and encourage continued conflict resolution.

The community-based initiative is a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, our affiliate agency Social Development Commission, Jamaica Constabulary Force, Rural Agricultural Development Agency, and the Thirteen Municipalities that has responsibilities for the Markets.

The programme, which is geared towards promoting better problem-solving techniques within the markets, was born out of the need to encourage or maintain amity between vendors and consumers.

It takes a boots-on-the-ground approach, with officers from the partnering Ministry and Agencies visiting and speaking with vendors and shoppers in the market on a one-to-one basis about the campaign and its message of promoting peace, respectful conduct and conflict de-escalation through three simple languages, ‘Dash Weh Di Badness’,’Do Di Right Ting’ and ‘Respect’.

Director of Communication and Public Relations in the Ministry of National Security and Peace, Charnele Henry, during a visit to the Mandeville Market on Saturday the subsidiary campaign is geared towards reminding vendors and patrons about the role they play in crime reduction.

“The Liv Gud Market Movement is a subsidiary initiative of the Liv Gud Anti-violence Campaign of the Ministry where we go into this community spaces and we are talking to patrons and vendors of market spaces reminding them that they too have a responsibility when it comes on to crime reduction and for Jamaica to achieve that goal a peaceful, more secure, more safe society,” she said.

Meanwhile, vendors such as Ms Ruby Forbes who ply her trade in the Santa Cruz Market welcomed the initiative, commenting that the programme is a step in the right direction.

“For me [its] excellent… I live good with just about everybody, I am the peacemaker, but if they would just take a picture of my book, I think it would be more unified, or you’d have more peace in the market”

Mandeville Market Manager, Special District Constable, Robert Masters, said the Municipality will continue to support the campaign’s message after the official programme ends. He noted that this ongoing commitment will help vendors and patrons maintain harmony within the market space.

“You teach what you preach, being a part of this tour, I realize the positiveness and the atmosphere that it gives to the vendors so we now as the municipality we will do our part to continue promoting this ‘Liv Gud’ and have a safe environment, not just for vendors but for shoppers also,” he said

The Liv Gud Market Movement initiative is expected to run from July to September 2026. During the movement, vendors will be positioned as ‘Liv Gud’ Ambassadors to further reinforce the campaign’s message throughout day-to-day interactions. So far, seven markets have been impacted by the programme.

Executive Director of the Social Development Commission, Mr Omar Frith while delivering his remarks, posits that some of the SDC’s greatest successes are attributed to women.

“We know, that when women succeed families become stronger, communities become more resilient, and local economies grow and of course our nation prospers… indeed the work of the SDC reflects and embodies the fact that we value our women and not only do we value our women but their work and presents demonstrates tremendous value to the SDC’s work,” he said.

He further added that more 60% of the Agencies Local Economic Development Support Programme (LEDSP) are led by women.

“Women are not just recipients of service and support, women are creating opportunities and building our local economy and so today’s initiative demonstrates that we are not seeing you as passive recipients of charity but you are contributing to building this nation and so investment in you is extremely important” he added during his remarks.

For her part, Keynote Speaker and Principal of Flankers Primary School, Ms Collette Barnes, shared her journey with the women in attendance and encouraged them to show up and show out for themselves.

“Don’t just show up, show out as well, if I did it, you can do it as well, where do you see yourself? Where do you see you ten years from now? Education is the only way out,” she said

“Don’t ever dim your shine to please nobody, I’m tell you all of this, if I did it, and I’m doing it, you can do it as well,” she added.

She further encouraged attendees to make full use of the entities represented at the opportunity fair.

“So different many agencies are here now, make use of them, what are you doing for you? Don’t just sit down…never be dependent… spend some time and empower yourself” Ms Barnes continued.

Meanwhile, the presence of stakeholders such as MBJ Airport, Sandals Resorts and Digicel, all represented by women, further underscored their support for the initiative.

The idea was conceptualized by SDC’s Community Liaison Officer, Warren Morle, who saw the need to do more to meet the needs of the women in the Montego Bay business district and surrounding communities.

During Clarendon’s orientation, Mayor of May Pen, His Worship, Councillor Joel Williams, encouraged participants to approach their assignments with diligence and professionalism, noting that the programme offers a valuable foundation and early exposure to the world of work.

“As a training exercise, as a training programme, some of you are going back to school and a programme like this you’ll be able to put on your resume… so I want you to take the matter very seriously,” he said.

While speaking after the evening orientation session in Manchester, Human Resource Manager Damion Chen said that the use of the digital platform to gather the data is step in the right direction as it allows the Municipal Corporation to track the data in real time.

“We will see the students using online portal of the YSEP programme instead of the paper-base, so this has cut out the use of paper for the corporation… it is easier for the participants to get the information instead of them bringing the paper base to us so that’s good [for] the corporation and the Ministry of Local Government,” he stated.

“Regarding the online portal, it is Survey123, this online application will give the corporation a real-time upload of data so once the student or participant goes out and gather that information, it will automatically upload in real time…the corporation is also aware of what the students are doing in real time,” he continued.

Meanwhile, the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation wrapped up their series of orientation exercises last Friday (July 17) with more than 800 participants across 40 divisions.

Participants will work with the local authorities for four weeks and the batch of 200 participants who will be working alongside the Disaster Risk Management team are expected to begin training and field work in August.

Speaking at the National Solid Waste Management Authority headquarters last month, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, announced a shift in the programme’s focus. He said 200 participants would be selected to support Parish Disaster Coordinators in strengthening disaster preparedness throughout the hurricane season.

“Since 2016, the Administration started what we call the Youth Summer Employment Programme, and since 2016 that programme has provided employment for more than 100,000 young people… this year we will commence the Youth Summer Employment Programme in the month of July but there is one component of the programme that will be different from the previous years,” he said.

“There are some lessons that we learned from Melissa, that we are going to be strengthening the Municipal Corporations. So, one of the aspects of the Youth Summer Employment Programme this year is that we are going to [be] providing 200 jobs out of the Youth Summer Employment Programme where we’re going to be providing 10-15 Youth Summer employees to each Municipal Corporation through the SDC… right through the hurricane season and their responsibility is to work with Disaster Coordinators in each Municipality across the country to deal with some of the issues that the disaster response needs”

This move is expected to significantly intensify disaster preparedness and response at the local level. Participants will be tasked with data collection, which will include hazard and drought mapping, providing administrative support and data entry.

The YSEP programme, over the last 10 years have given many young Jamaicans the opportunity to use the initiative as a capacity building pathway, with several participants matriculating into long-term employment within the Local Government fraternity.

Work has commenced to clear 27 gullies and drains across nine coastal divisions at a cost of more than $23 million, under phase one of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) 2026 Disaster Mitigation programme.

Deputy Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Lorraine Dobson, made the announcement during the KSAMC’s meeting on Tuesday (July 14), in downtown Kingston.

“We have commenced work on the first phase of the 2026 Disaster Mitigation programme. Under this phase, we will be focusing on critical gullies and drains. This proactive intervention forms part of the KSAMC’s ongoing effort to strengthen flood mitigation measures, improve the capacity of our drain infrastructure and reduce the risk of flooding during periods of heavy rainfall,” she said.

The Deputy Mayor said these works are critical to protecting lives, safeguarding property and improving the resilience of communities throughout the hurricane season.

She appealed to all citizens to observe responsible disposal practices to keep drains and gullies free of debris to prevent flooding.

“While the KSAMC remains committed to maintaining the municipality’s drainage network, I must appeal to residents, contractors and developers to exercise greater responsibility in the storage of building materials, particularly sand, marl, gravel and other aggregates,” Councillor Dobson said.

The Deputy Mayor emphasised that these materials should never be stored along the roadside or in locations where they can be washed into drains and gullies during rainfall.

“Far too often the Corporation is forced to divert scarce resources from essential road maintenance and other infrastructure work to remove silt, gravel and other debris that unnecessarily block the drainage system. This is a preventable problem and one that, ultimately, places an additional financial burden on already limited resources,” she said.

“I, therefore, urge every resident to play his or her part in protecting our drainage infrastructure by adopting responsible construction and waste management practices. We can reduce flooding, make more efficient use of public funds and build a cleaner, safer and more resilient Kingston and St. Andrew for all,” she added.

Councillor Dobson pointed out that all divisions will benefit from the mitigation programme.

The Ministry of Local Government and Community Development has received US$1 million in resources and cash to assist ongoing Hurricane Melissa recovery and humanitarian efforts.

The donation, from the JN Foundation in partnership with Lutheran World Relief,  comprises US$416,000 and 545 disaster relief kits containing quilts, educational materials, baby-care and personal-care items, among other things.

The support will be channelled through the Poor Relief Department to infirmaries and drop-in centres.

Addressing the handover on Tuesday (June 30) at the Ministry’s Hagley Park Road offices in Kingston, portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, expressed gratitude.

He said that the contribution will support State-operated institutions that were adversely impacted by the hurricane, including infirmaries in Trelawny, Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth.

“I am grateful to receive [this donation] on behalf of the Poor Relief Department and its practitioners. All our infirmaries across the island will be able to benefit from your kind generosity,” he noted.

General Manager of JN Foundation, Claudine Allen, in her remarks, said that the items will bring immediate benefit to some 30,000 persons.

“The kits are designed to provide basic needs of babies, children and adults – items that will preserve dignity and bring a little comfort to those who are most in need,” she noted.

Ms. Allen announced that the JN Foundation will be assisting the Trelawny Infirmary in Falmouth.

“We are happy to share that the Trelawny infirmary where we saw first-hand the devastation, we will be able to channel $1.25 million to help in procuring equipment,” she informed.

The funding will support the purchase of hospital beds, bedside tables, lockers and a double door refrigerator for the infirmary.

The trucks, which will be used for day-to-day operations such as transporting water to regional offices and outstations will also be used for wetting drylands to prevent fires and washing town centres, while also playing a key role in preparing and responding during times of disaster.

During the handing over ceremony, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, said that these trucks will add to the current complement of vehicles that the National Solid Waste Management Authority has in their taskforce.

“We have given to the organization, more than 130 trucks in various forms over the last 10 years… these four new additions, comes on the heels of the 10 tipper trucks that was provided last year,” he said.

“When Catherine Hall was covered by mud, if we had these trucks, in Catherine Hall, it would have made a significant difference in the time that we spent cleaning Catherine Hall and so these trucks will be provided to the four regions, each region will have one” he added.

The Minister also stated that an additional four trucks will be procured in the new financial year as the agency continues to ramp up their manpower, heavy equipment and public education efforts.

“In the new financial year, we’re going to be making provisions for another four trucks” he said.

The National Solid Waste Management Authority has been the driving force is removing bulky waste, derelict vehicles and debris since the passage of hurricane Melissa. The agency recently launched Operation CALM, as they continue to do their part restoring and maintaining Jamaica’s beauty.

This marked the Ministry’s inaugural participation in the conference and provided an invaluable opportunity to showcase the work of the Ministry and its agencies in the Diaspora Marketplace. Through meaningful engagement with Jamaicans living overseas, the Ministry sought to foster strategic partnerships and strengthen connections with the diaspora.

JAMAICA FIRE BRIGADE

For the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), the conference presented an opportunity to reposition the organisation in the minds of the public as an agency whose responsibilities extend far beyond firefighting. The Brigade highlighted its diverse range of services, including its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) operations through its Drone Unit, its Emergency Medical Services, its humanitarian assistance services, and other specialised emergency response capabilities.

The JFB also underscored its indispensable role in the country’s development process. Without its building inspections and approvals, construction projects across Jamaica would come to a standstill. As the agency responsible for assessing fire safety compliance and aspects of infrastructural integrity, the Brigade plays a pivotal role in safeguarding lives and property. Fittingly, the venue that hosted the Diaspora Marketplace itself required approval from the Jamaica Fire Brigade before the conference could proceed.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

While rebuilding physical infrastructure is essential, Jamaica’s recovery, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, also depends heavily on social and psychological intervention. Central to this effort is the work of the Social Development Commission (SDC), one of the few government agencies with representatives serving all 775 communities across the island.

Throughout the conference, the SDC’s knowledgeable team engaged visitors by providing detailed insights into the agency’s programmes and initiatives designed to empower individuals and strengthen communities.

Among the featured initiatives was the Sport for Community Development Programme, which includes the National T20 Cricket Competition. This programme promotes community engagement while encouraging healthier lifestyles and positive social values. The agency also highlighted its Participatory Governance Framework Programme and the Local Economic Initiative, both of which equip grassroots entrepreneurs with the skills, knowledge, and resources needed to establish, manage, and grow sustainable businesses.

To complement these presentations, the SDC showcased products created by local micro-enterprises supported through its programmes and generated additional interest by raffling a National T20 cricket ball autographed by portfolio Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie.

NATIONAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY

The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) used the conference to shine a spotlight on its Plants and Gardens Division. While demonstrating the agency’s contribution to Jamaica’s beautification efforts, representatives also educated visitors on the environmental and economic benefits of composting. They shared practical guidance on how households can safely convert organic waste into valuable, reusable resources, reinforcing the importance of sustainable waste management practices.

BOARD OF SUPERVISION FOR THE RELIEF OF THE POOR

The Board of Supervision for the Relief of the Poor, a department within the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, is tasked with improving the lives of Jamaica’s most vulnerable citizens. Through the Municipal Corporations, the Ministry administers a range of poor relief services, including state-owned homeless shelters, drop-in centres, and infirmaries.

At the conference, Corporate Secretary Ms. Treka Lewis and Regional Manager Ms. Maureen James highlighted the Board’s wide range of services while engaging members of the diaspora on opportunities to support vulnerable Jamaicans. They also discussed avenues through which returning residents and overseas Jamaicans can contribute meaningfully to social welfare initiatives.

All in all, the Ministry’s participation in the conference proved to be a rewarding experience and underscored the value of highlighting the improvements and versatility of what Jamaica is today.