The streets of Kingston, Jamaica no longer resembled the place where our founder and current President & CEO, Ronald Thomas spent his childhood. Throughout the capital city, he was confronted with the reality of homelessness and marveled at the number of panhandlers and vendors begging and selling their wares at the busy intersections.
Perhaps his most disturbing observations were the number of school-aged children wondering aimlessly as if they were on summer vacation and the marked increase in crime and violence. He recounted that he felt the suffering of his underserved countrymen and made a conscious decision to do all that was in his power to assist them.
Armed with a mission to bring awareness and create response initiatives to the poverty and other socio-economic conditions affecting Jamaica, the Eye on Jamaica Project was born. The broad-based organization was established in Pembroke Pines, Florida on October 20, 2003 as a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation and serves as a catalyst for progress.
With education as its impetus, the Eye on Jamaica Project has been involved in the inaugural launch of the Go-Local Jamaica in Schools Competition, donated computers and educational materials to schools and libraries in addition to working with the Ministry of National Security's Refugee Management Unit with donations and an awareness campaign.
Evidence its commitment to employing unique strategies; the organization developed the '876 Empowerment Workshop Series', a training workshop geared at empowering those who help Jamaica through specialized tutelage from experts in the non-profit field. The workshops are designed to assist Jamaica-focused groups in the United States and Community-Based organization and Non-Governmental Organizations in Jamaica.
With special attention to children in State custody, the Eye on Jamaica Project has created close ties with their caretaker agencies; provide a variety of programs including a collaborative venture with General Painting, Ltd that launched its 'Brighten up Yourself' paint and rejuvenation program for the children at Matthew 25:40 Children's Home.
The organization continues to grow with a keen interest in program development and building strong collaborative bounds as the key to remaining relevant as it serves the people of Jamaica.
