The newly-crowned Festival Queens of Jamaica have made a call to the diaspora in the UK to help to make a difference and give something back to their homeland.

Under the direction of Jamaicans Inspired UK (JamIn) descendants of Jamaican-born parents and grandparents will have a unique opportunity to reconnect to the island and do something positive for Jamaican communities.

As well as helping the Queens to team-up with volunteers in the UK the Jamaica Parish Ambassador program (JPAP) is designed to connect young leaders in the Diaspora back to Jamaica.

Chairman of JamIn Nathaniel Peat, said: “This is an opportunity for anyone living in the UK that would like to get involved in social projects in Jamaica but is unsure of how to go about it. JamIn is a dynamic organisation and the Program will give young people in the UK rewarding experiences, help them to develop leadership skills and give them the chance to make important business links.”

The island of Jamaica is subdivided into 14 parishes: Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny, St. Ann, St. Mary, Portland and St. Thomas. Each Parish is represented by a Festival Queen who is the pioneer for a project of her choice.

For example, Dainalyn Swaby, Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2017, is heading up a project called Project Learn, Earn, Return with a mission to attract young Jamaicans to become entrepreneurs, helping to build and develop the communities that they live in. The project will identify opportunities for entrepreneurship among young people – primarily unattached youth – so that they are able to create sustainable income and employment for themselves.

“The parish projects provide us with the opportunity to impact our communities and our country as a collective. For us to be successful with our respective initiatives the partnerships with various stakeholders is critical. I’m looking forward to working with volunteers from the UK as we can share ideas and learn a great deal from each other,” said Dainalyn.
In collaboration with JAMIN, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and the Jamaica Diaspora Institute (JDI) JPAP aims to get directly involved in projects that tackle community development and education also helping to empower young people throughout the island.

Ambassadors in the UK must be between the ages of 18 to 24 and Team Leaders, who will oversee the partnerships must be 25 and over. Team Leaders should expect to get involved with social media campaigns, training and give regular feedback amongst other duties. Ambassadors duties may include fundraising, local radio appearances and assisting at courses and events.

Interested candidates are invited to attend a meeting on 6th Jamaica at the High Commission of Jamaica in London. From 6pm to 9pm. the evening be a mix of information and entertainment with a live performance from Ash I.