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Jamaican minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister Floyd Green announced that an individual with visual impairments who applies for a birth certificate will receive that document in Braille. Green shared the information during the 2023/2024 Sectoral Debate in Jamaica’s House of Representatives.

According to Green, the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) plans to make birth certificates printed in Braille a reality in the near future. He said that he has continued his advocacy for the most vulnerable Jamaicans to ensure they are included in everything the government does. To satisfy the needs of the visually impaired, the printing of birth certificates in Braille will happen via partnering with the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities, the Jamaica Society for the Blind, and other relevant stakeholders, he added, noting that the initiative represents a “pioneering effort” in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Updates On Operation BirthRight

Green also provided updates to the House on the Jamaican government program Operation BirthRight, which is designed to give as many as 30 thousand undocumented Jamaicans earning minimum wages a birth certificate. More than two thousand applicants have applied for their birth certificates under this program to date. He added that the government has partnered with the country’s Department of Correctional Services to provide some 100 birth certificates to inmates of the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Center, noting that this program will expand to other correctional centers across Jamaica within a few months.

A Complicated Process

The determination of whether or not applicants are eligible to seek Jamaican birth certificates is complex, Green stated. In some cases, information from an applicant’s school, church, and community must be obtained, and in others, the RGD must go into the field and initiate follow-ups to handle late registration and relevant entries required to issue birth certificates to eligible applicants. The government has hired 14 additional workers across Jamaica for the specific purpose of dealing with Operation BirthRight.

Great Emphasis On Birth Certificate Production in 2023

Minister Green expects that the production of birth certificates will be speeded up in 2023. In April 2023, for example, a promotional campaign was launched to encourage Jamaicans to use the Operation BirthRight program to obtain greater benefits. The promotional efforts will be ongoing for the next several months, he said.

Photo – Official Facebook Page for Floyd Green

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Giants of Caribbean tourism were honored by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) as Icons of Caribbean Hospitality, the highest recognition the association bestows.

Gordon “Butch” Stewart of Jamaica, Sir Royston Hopkin of Grenada, and George Myers of Jamaica who rose to prominence in the Bahamas were lauded during the second annual Caribbean Travel Forum, held in Barbados this month. CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig presented the awards posthumously to the three legends.

Stewart Hailed As Pioneer in Caribbean Tourism

During his lifetime, Stewart, founder of Sandals Resorts International, elevated Caribbean tourism to the pinnacles of global leadership in sustainable luxury. He was also known for his commitment to improving the quality of life and employment opportunities for those in the most dynamic sector of the regional economy.

CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig presents the late Gordon “Butch” Stewart’s Icon of Caribbean Hospitality award to his son Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman, Sandals Resorts International.

“Three determined young men dreamed of making their mark in Caribbean tourism and hospitality, and along the way, they forged a new path, mentoring and molding other young Caribbean dreamers to aim for excellence. They have now been named Icons of Hospitality by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, and I could not be prouder,” said Adam Stewart, son of the famed hotelier and Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International.

“To Sir Royston, my dad’s good friend; to Uncle George, who led the way and made us laugh, and to Father, my hero, and the biggest dreamer of them all: Your example of how to build lives of service and contribution continues to inspire us all. We – the next generation of Caribbean hoteliers, stand on your shoulders, and you can be certain that the high expectations you have set for us all will be exceeded for and because of you,” he added.

Kendra Hopkin Stewart, President of the Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association (center), accepts the late Sir Royston Hopkin’s Icon of Caribbean Hospitality award from CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig and CHTA Acting CEO and Director General, Vanessa Ledesma (right).

Good Read: Jamaica To Host Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2024

Hopkins Placed Grenada On the International Map

Sir Royston Hopkin was bestowed the Icon Award not only for his professional achievements as an internationally recognized hotelier, stated Madden-Greig, but also for “a vision larger than himself, his hotel [Spice Island Beach Resort], and his island, which inspired – and continues to inspire – succeeding generations.”

Hopkin’s daughter, Janelle Hopkin, who serves as President and Managing Director of Spice Island Beach Resort, recalled that starting at 21 and continuing for more than 50 years, Sir Royston’s dedication to “Spice”, the local and regional hospitality industry, and Grenada in general, gained him the respect and admiration of his fellow hoteliers, deep friendships, and fans around the world. From humble beginnings to his knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, his career was the epitome of lifetime achievement.

Hopkin was a natural talent, she recalled. “Hospitality is a service-based business – for people, by people. There are certain things you can learn in this business, and others you cannot. My father had a way with people. His instinct was unerring. He also possessed an uncanny ability to work with and through them. For me, those were his greatest assets.”

She continued: “Thank you CHTA for bestowing this honor upon him. Although I could not be in attendance, the moment was truly special. It was an opportunity to not only pay tribute to a true icon in the industry, but also a chance to recognize the lifelong achievement of a great and well-respected man, who also happened to be my dad.”

Joy Jibrilu, CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board (right), accepts the late George Myers’ Icon of Caribbean Hospitality award from CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig.

Jamaican Man Who Was Pivotal To The Growth of Bahamas Tourism Sector

CHTA also saluted Caribbean tourism stalwart and preeminent Caribbean businessman, the late George Myers, a legendary figure dearly cherished in his native Jamaica, and revered in the Bahamas and throughout the region. He was especially known for his pivotal role in shaping the tourism landscape of Nassau Paradise Island, for mentoring many across the industry, and for providing employment opportunities for Bahamians and Caribbean nationals over the decades.

Frank Comito, former CHTA CEO and Director General, reflected that Myers’ contribution to the development and growth of tourism in the Bahamas and the Caribbean was immeasurable.

“He recognized the depth and power of marketing the Caribbean brand when over 40 years ago he was one of the founders of Caribbean Travel Marketplace, which continues today and has helped to attract millions of additional visitors to the region every year.

“He taught us the value of partnerships and collaboration, leading by example as President of the Bahamas and Caribbean hotel associations and founder and longstanding chair of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board. He had a special knack for identifying talent and through his companies and organizations, he identified and supported the professional development of hundreds of Caribbean nationals. We are all better because of George.”

Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, received the first CHTA President’s Award for Caribbean Tourism Excellence.

Bartlett Receives President’s Award

The honorees were heralded for mentoring today’s generation of hoteliers, their philanthropy efforts, and their strong support of CHTA throughout the years.

Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, received the first CHTA President’s Award for Caribbean Tourism Excellence.

One of the minister’s notable international successes was the establishment of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre, which brings together distinguished international experts to examine resilience from several viewpoints, and which Madden-Greig described as “a timely and much needed forum for the examination of the key elements needed to strengthen the region’s major economic driver, tourism.”

“As the longest serving tourism minister in the Caribbean, Minister Bartlett has placed the region at the forefront of leading international initiatives and we are very proud of him,” she said.

Photo – Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association

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In the Old Testament, worshippers were required to bring a sacrifice to the priest who would offer it up to God on their behalf. Worshippers and their sacrifices could not go directly to God. There always had to be a middleman, the high priest, who was the only one who could enter the Holy of Holies and offer sacrifices that could atone or compensate for the sins of the people.  Before he could offer their sacrifices, the officiating priest “shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house” (Leviticus 16:6, KJV). In other words, he was just as guilty a sinner in God’s eyes as the people he represented.

Outside of doing his duty, the interaction between the priest and the worshippers was impersonal. He could not help them as they were all in the same boat; only that his job was special. Entering into the presence of God, there was no guarantee he would come out alive. According to Jewish tradition, “the High Priest wore a rope around his waist as he made his way – absolutely alone – into the Holy of Holies. The rope he wore served a very practical purpose. Because, in the event that the High Priest said or did something wrong, it was generally believed that he would be struck dead for his offense. Yes, right then and there. As only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, the rope enabled his assistants to safely pull the corpse of the High Priest out of the inner sanctum in the event of a mishap.” That is some serious stuff!

However, the New Testament book of Hebrews provides us with the complete representation of Christ’s fulfillment of the law including the priesthood and every sacrifice. Jesus Himself has become our high priest forever (Hebrews 6:20). No longer are we as worshippers represented by an impersonal human priest, but the writer reminds us that in Christ “we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (4:15). In Chapter 2 he writes, “For surely it is not angels He helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason, He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted” (vv. 16-18, NIV).

Our great high priest “who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens . . . needeth not daily, as those [human] high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s: for this, He did once, when He offered up Himself” (Hebrews 7:26, 27). In his book Called to Worship, Vernon Whaley observes, “His sacrifice was eternal, and it purchased for us eternal life, eternal cleansing, eternal covering, and eternal forgiveness. Though we are sinners, and God still has no tolerance for sin, He now looks at us through Christ’s finished work on the cross. . . . [Christ] not only presented the offering, He was the offering.” Thanks to our great high priest, unlike all the saints before Him, we can come “boldly” and directly “to the throne of grace,” worshipping God face-to-face and enjoying Him personally, obtaining mercy, and finding “grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Praise the Lord!

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