State Minister Urges Overseas Jamaicans to Back Youth and Local Communities

Hon. Rhoda Moy Crawford, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, has called on Jamaicans living abroad to take a more hands-on part in building the country by channelling support toward young people and the institutions that serve their home communities.

Addressing a plenary session called 'Connecting, Engaging and Empowering the Youth Diaspora for National Development' at the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference on Tuesday, June 16, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, Ms. Crawford said valuable contributions need not flow only through official government channels.

She told delegates that members of the diaspora can strengthen Jamaica by backing schools, churches, community groups, and individual youths in the places they come from. While the Ministry runs established youth-focused bodies and programmes designed to channel assistance, she stressed that personal service and mentorship can carry comparable weight. Sustained contact at the grassroots, she argued, can change lives just as profoundly as larger institutional efforts.

"You can help a struggling child, you can return to visit the basic school you attended and help to supply books or you can return to the church you attended," she said.

Recalling her own childhood in Grey Ground, Manchester, Ms. Crawford credited neighbours, teachers, relatives, and her church with helping to shape the path she followed. That enduring tradition of community care, she said, remains among Jamaica's finest strengths and should guide diaspora members who want to give back in practical ways.

The State Minister also underscored that advancing the nation demands shared responsibility, with every Jamaican expected to help prepare the next generation for success.

"In the same way that, for many of us, Jamaica moulded us, poured into us, and made us who we are today, we must now identify young people and pour into them. We owe our success to the next generation," Ms. Crawford said.