Dear UJAA Presidents and Members,

The past few months have been quite hectic for all of us. As a result, there has been no President’s Message or other messages from your Board Members. Today, I want to highlight several things that we should all feel proud to have achieved together.

Water Tanks. Payment was made for the second set of water tanks, and delivery to 22 schools will be made within the next few weeks. We have now paid for 42 tanks total. Our commitment to deliver 60 water tanks was made over two years ago. As a Board, we are proud of this accomplishment on your behalf. We expect to deliver the final 18 water tanks from our commitment by June 30th this year.

York Castle on the move. UJAA Director and York Castle President, Dwight Clarke shared some exciting news with us.

To quote Mr. Clarke…

“I am thrilled to share some exciting news about our alma mater, York Castle High School. Thanks to your continuous support, our NY Chapter was able to provide ground transportation for the York Castle High School Model UN Team during their visit to the UN in NY. I had the pleasure of meeting the students and teachers, and I must say, they were awesome and well disciplined. I am proud to announce that the York Castle HS Model UN team, representing Jamaica, received 2 Honorable Mention Awards, making them the only school from Jamaica to achieve this recognition. The future looks incredibly bright for these budding leaders and diplomats.”.

Dwight also went on to say….

“York Castle Alumni Association NY Chapter has been actively involved in helping Brown’s Town Primary School initiate a Robotics Curriculum as part of the UJAA Pilot Adopt A Primary School Initiative. It is with great pride that I announce that the First Tech Challenge in Jamaica FLL launch had representatives from Brown’s Town Primary School, marking a significant step as they prepare for the FLL competition on June 29th, 2024, in Kingston. Our very own York Castle Robotics Junior Team “Drones” will be mentoring these young students, guiding them in the field of STEM Education. I am also pleased to share that the registration for this initiative was made possible by the York Castle Alumni Association NY Chapter, underscoring our commitment to fostering the next generation of innovators, scientists, and engineers. Thank you all for your unwavering support and dedication to these impactful endeavors”

Mega Drawing 2024. This year there are 39 associations in Mega – up from a record 38 associations last year. We intend to make Mega 2024 part of a grand event on July 20th. There will be a cover charge for the event and we will showcase our participants in the lead up to the event. Come out dressed to impress, as we do this for the first time in the post-COVID era.

Congratulations KC and Edwin Allen! So Champs is behind us and KC once again established themselves as the team for the ages. Edwin Allen returned to the top spot, after narrowly losing to Hydel in 2023. Several other UJAA association schools did well. Congrats to you all!

The last word. The remainder of April will be a busy time for many. Rest assured, the UJAA Board is here to support you. We are in this together as we work to help our most vulnerable in Jamaica.

Donovan

Donovan Wilson
President
Union of Jamaican Alumni Associations (USA) Inc. (UJAA)
Email: President@ujaausa.org
Cell: (917) 972-5502
“Education is Empowerment; Only the Educated are Free”