Speech

Remarks by Karen Hilliard at the I-PLEDGE Launch May 1, 2009

As prepared

Kingston, Jamaica | Monday, June 01, 2009

Hon. Andrew Holness, Minister of Education, Mr. Douglas Orane, Chairman, Grace Kennedy, other distinguished guests on the platform, ladies and gentlemen good morning.

I am honored to share this space with Western Union, Grace Kennedy Money Services and others in the Grace Kennedy family at today’s I Pledge Launch.  

USAID’s relationship with Western Union goes back to five years, when Grace Kennedy Remittance Services, in collaboration with Western Union International, the United States Embassy and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), introduced a program to help to educate Jamaica's youth. That I-PLEDGE  program was developed under the Building Bridges program that was spearheaded by former United States Ambassador to Jamaica, Sue Cobb.  The program provided math books to children from Grades 1 - 5 in primary schools across Jamaica.

Today, I am pleased to say that we have renewed our relationship. Our newest collaboration will be to introduce a new education technology project, to be implemented by a local NGO, to provide computers and training for selected primary schools.

This new project “Enhancing literacy and numeracy through the use of technology” is very important as it will expose children to new tools that will help them to explore learning in interesting ways. Every opportunity we have to give children this kind of access, helps to broaden their learning experience. It will equip teachers with the skills to create exciting lessons, which will engage and stimulate greater interaction in the classroom. This will help to improve the teacher/student relationship and student performance.

USAID welcomes opportunities to collaborate with the private sector to expand the resources of the host government to meet development objectives.  Public-private partnerships, when done right, are powerful development tools.

USAID’s contribution to these partnerships takes varying forms and often includes our comprehensive sector strategy, our education expertise, and our strong relationship with the local Ministry of Education, and other stakeholders. 

Congratulations to Grace Kennedy and Western Union.  We are confident that this will be successful as we continue to work together to bring exciting new ideas and resources to Jamaica’s children.