Solve the problems one child at a time.
Support organisations helping young
people.
Help create solid Jamaican citizens of tomorrow.
A LOT of Jamaica's challenges arise from the fact that we have yet to forge an education system, and a syllabus, which grooms our youngsters to be solid Jamaican citizens equipped to live in this society, convinced that Jamaica is a great place to be, and committed to our national institutions and way of life.
Because of the current failures in the formal system, and the many constraints facing our young people, it is imperative that responsible Jamaicans become more actively supportive of the organisations which are "filling the gap" by providing much needed assistance to our youth.
This is the firm opinion of Garfield Sinclair, president, chief operating officer and a director of the leading financial services group, Dehring, Bunting and Golding Ltd., and a board member of Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.).
Mr. Sinclair, a Jamaican who attended high school in California, United States, feels this is one area in which our country would do well to emulate the American approach.
"The graduate who has gone through the American high school education system," he says, "if nothing else, has been equipped to function in the American society, to know what it is to be an American citizen, and all that means, and that is what is key. There is where we fail in Jamaica. We have not created a truly Jamaican education system, as opposed to the one we inherited, lock, stock and barrel from England, though we may be starting to do that now.
"Also, we alienate our kids at 14, 15 years of age, if they are not able to get six or seven subjects in fifth form. Not everybody can be a rocket scientist, but we can produce solid Jamaican citizens. We have to support organisations like Youth Opportunities Unlimited if we are going to do this. At the end of the day, positive change for this country is not going to drop from heaven. We are going to have to solve the problems one child at a time, through the efforts of one person at a time."
LONG-HELD DESIRE
A husband, and the father of five, Mr. Sinclair says he has made the effort to serve on the Y.O.U. board despite an extremely full schedule, because of a long-held desire to work with an organisation focused on the development of youngsters.
"Y.O.U. appealed to me," he explains, "because of its focus on mentoring, on getting children who are in school to focus on doing well, and on providing them with guidance, which all kids need, even the most incorrigible. I think this is a most efficient approach. I also have a tremendous respect for the Y.O.U. board members, especially the chairman, Professor Errol Miller. I am really impressed that he is always there at board meetings, he is near and dear to the organisation!"
Mr. Sinclair is particularly interested in establishing a centre for Y.O.U., in a building of its own, as part of a drive to assist the organisation achieve financial sustainability. His dream is to name this centre after his mother, the late Jamaican actress Madge Sinclair, as a tribute to her many achievements. The Emmy Award-winning star of film and television, who was honoured posthumously with a Jamaican Doctor Bird Award in 1998, was also a successful businesswoman, and her son remembers helping, along with his younger brother, in her Los Angeles Gallery where Jamaican art had a special place of honour.
Though a mediocre student in high school and at the San Diego State University where he gained a B.Sc. degree in Administration, with a major in Accounting, Mr. Sinclair's entrepreneurial talents were encouraged by his mother. As a result, he operated a series of successful small businesses in Los Angeles before returning to his studies to qualify as a CPA (certified public accountant). In order to practise as a CPA, he needed three years of auditing experience, and he decided to return to Jamaica to serve with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Jamaica) in Kingston.
He completed his stint there in 1993, and had planned to go back to California, but was not able to tear himself away from the country he calls "Paradise".
"Obviously Jamaica is not perfect, but it is a paradise to me," he declares. "The quality of life, the underlying camaraderie amongst the people, though not obvious if you read the newspapers, plus, they are YOUR people! Living in Los Angeles, I always felt like a resident alien, I was just interfacing with the different people and organisations. It just felt better here."
Mr. Sinclair left PwC as senior auditor, and joined Dehring, Bunting and Golding as financial controller in 1994. He was appointed president and chief operating officer in 2000. Despite the strenuous demands of the flourishing DB&G financial empire (the group has just acquired the former Issa Merchant Bank, and also operates an investment bank and a unit trust), he is determined to make a contribution to the youth of Jamaica, and to encourage others to join in the effort.
"A lot of resources are needed to do good work," he points out. "Jamaican organisations and individuals need to take up the challenge and get actively involved in providing financing and personal involvement for organisations like Youth Opportunities Unlimited. We cannot afford to lose the excellent support programmes which are nurturing our young people, because we cannot afford to have yet another generation missing out on education, socialisation and the makings of productive citizenship."
