GK Cares - Tools for Schools Virtual Handover #2 - Thursday, January 21, 2021

Student body representatives, GK Executives, the Board and staff of the Grace & Staff Community Development Foundation, other GK team members, our project partners -Worldwide Technologies, good afternoon and thank you for joining us.

I would like to start by wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year. Any New Year is a new opportunity for growth and success, and I am confident that 2021 will be no different. Although 2020 was one of the most challenging years in our recent history, we have persevered and endured due to our commitment and determination to succeed. In 2021 we must all continue to work together as we tackle the challenge of COVID-19 and emerge stronger together as a nation.

At GraceKennedy, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Company has not only continued to perform well as a business, we have also made it our duty to increase our support to the communities we serve, during this time when the need is so great. Our support has included care packages for families, frontline and essential workers, communities, and charitable organizations, while also amplifying our support of education, through the work of our two Foundations.

One of the GK initiatives coming out of 2020 which has provided much needed support for education, and which is one that I am truly proud of, is the reason for our virtual meeting today - our GK Cares Tools for Schools programme. GK Cares is now more relevant than ever, however it is important to recognise that it had been a part of GraceKennedy’s agenda for many months, even before the onset of the pandemic. GK has long recognized the importance of bridging the technological gap for schools in Jamaica and that’s why we made a commitment at the beginning of last year, to provide much needed support for schools through the donation of laptops and tablets.

GK Cares is also in keeping with our Company’s longstanding passion for supporting education. I always say that I strongly believe that education is a right and not a privilege, and I am fortunate enough to lead a Company that supports this view. In fact, I am in my position largely because of the solid education I gained at the University of the West Indies. Education changed my life and has been a critical part of my journey to become head of the GraceKennedy Group.

During the pandemic, guaranteeing the right to education has translated to GK taking steps to improve access to technology for online learning for those who need it. The truth is that the lack of access to the internet and internet-enabled devices has added to the struggle of adjusting to life with COVID-19 for many. For some, online learning has been a simple adjustment, but for others it has had negative consequences for their education, simply because they do not have the tools necessary to achieve academic excellence.

I was therefore pleased that last September, just in time for the new school year, GK Cares Tools for Schools was launched. Under the first phase of the programme GraceKennedy donated 210 internet-enabled devices - tablets for students and laptops for teachers – valued at over five million Jamaican Dollars. These devices were well received by early childhood institutions, primary and secondary schools, and homework centres, identified by our Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation, as requiring urgent support for online learning. Over the past few months, it has made me so happy to hear the sincere messages of thanks coming from the schools who benefitted, all saying how much the donation has helped bridge the digital divide among their students.

And so, today, I am delighted to be celebrating our second GK Cares Tools for Schools donation of 213 devices - tablets, laptops - valued at over 5.1 million Jamaican Dollars – which will go to tertiary students just in time for the new semester. I am also happy to report that this donation includes support received from our partner, Worldwide Technologies, who not only sourced the devices for us during a time of high demand, they also donated sim cards and printers valued at over 340,000 Jamaican Dollars to the primary and infant schools who benefitted from GK Cares back in September. And that really speaks to the power of partnerships. And I always use this quote from Hellen Keller to underscore that point…Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

Recipients of the devices being donated under GK Cares Tools for Schools Phase 2 are tertiary students from across Jamaica, studying at both rural and urban campuses. These beneficiaries have been identified by their student bodies as being unable to afford devices for online learning. And I really must commend all the student bodies who assisted us with this project – the student groups, associations, guilds – not only are these student representatives putting in the work to achieve their own academic goals, they are also advocating for the well-being of their colleagues, and that is truly commendable.

The fact that today’s donation is benefitting tertiary students, is actually due in part to the advocacy of a group of student representatives.

Late last year A few of the GK Executives and I met with Sujae Boswell and his colleagues from the UWI Mona Guild. As a two-time UWI graduate I was extremely proud to hear the impressive and moving presentation delivered by Sujae and his Guild colleagues as we discussed the overwhelming need on campus during the pandemic, and a strengthened partnership between our two organizations. Their advocacy coupled with GK’s longstanding support of tertiary education in Jamaica, has led us to this moment.

Through today’s donation, GK is happy to be building on our Company’s existing support of Jamaican tertiary students, which in the 2020/2021 academic year has also included the awarding of scholarships valued at over 36 million Jamaican Dollars to over 230 tertiary students by the GK Foundation and Grace & Staff Community combined. The GK Foundation also continues to operate the GK Campus Connect Food Bank on four Jamaican university campuses – UWI, UTech, CMU and the Edna Manley College. Since its launch in 2019 the food bank has provided food packages valued at approximately 7.5 million Jamaican dollars to hundreds of tertiary students in need, with 3.1 million dollars of that support being provided since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Jamaica.

We look forward to deepening our relationship with schools across Jamaica, as GraceKennedy continues to provide much needed support to students in need. As I mentioned before, it is through the power of partnerships that we can achieve great things, not only for ourselves, but for our communities and our nation.

Finally, I would like to close by acknowledging the team at GK who has made it all possible, particularly our GK Cares committee and the Grace & Staff team. The GK Family consistently embodies our company’s We Care mantra, which is at the heart of who we are as individuals and as a Company.

I am proud of all that we have been able to accomplish through GK Cares, especially during this pandemic, and I also remain committed to ensuring that GK continues to support those in need in 2021. We are #StrongerTogether because #WeCare.

And on that note, I end with another quote, this time from Mother Teresa:

“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful."

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I wish you all good health, prosperity and success in 2021.