JWN Foundation

As Jamaica celebrated Read Across Jamaica Day, J.Wray & Nephew Foundation (JWNF), a leading Jamaican philanthropy brand with a proud legacy of community involvement. On the heels of the recent posthumous pardon by the US of former US president Joe Biden of Marcus Garvey, Jamaica’s first national hero, the JWNF board decided to celebrate Garvey’s teachings for Read Across Jamaica Day. Daddy Marcus Nursery Rhymes was this year’s choice of Jamaican-authored books by Jamaican professor of Garveyism, and author Steven Golding.

Garfene Grandison, General Manager of the JWN Foundation, said the Foundation selected 12 schools within the company’s operating areas in Kingston, Clarendon, and St. Elizabeth. According to him, “We have always chosen Jamaican authors and with recent pardon and Garvey’s body of work and the importance that it played, we thought that this was the perfect opportunity to start at the primary level to introduce and reinforce his teachings.

“Garvey’s ideas promoted self-reliance and the establishment of an independent black economy, and by reading this book, and through his efforts in the past, we aim to make a significant contribution towards sustainable literacy development among Jamaica’s children. Additionally, it

allows us to foster a love of reading in communities where literacy levels are relatively low,” Grandison said.

Members of J. Wray & Nephew volunteered by visiting primary schools in Kingston, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth, where they read stories to students from Daddy Marcus Nursery Rhymes, donated 8 copies of the book to the school’s library, and engaged young readers in lively discussions about the power of literacy and Jamaican culture.

“Our volunteers look forward to this initiative every year as an opportunity to actively participate in increasing the literacy of the next generation and providing a platform to introduce locally authored books to the children in underserved communities. Our aim was to get students to see that once they put their mind to something and work hard, that they will be able to achieve it,” he said.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr was a Jamaican political activist and the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) and was a prominent advocate for black nationalism and Pan-Africanism, emphasizing unity between Africans and the African diaspora.

“My grandmother used to always remember and recite nursery rhymes up to when she was 90 years old, so it revealed to me the impact that those nursery rhymes had on people especially at the early childhood level. We began to look at nursery rhymes, the impact it has on the psychology of people and then started to do further research to insert our history in these stories.” He continued, “Marcus Garvey’s teachings provided us with a blueprint for true

independence that transcends time, and this book is a celebration of Garvey’s ideas and his contribution to our present moment,” he ended.

This year’s Read Across Jamaica Day, was celebrated under the theme “Safeguarding the Future of Education: Adapting to the Changing Landscape.”