Over the years, Jamaica has benefited significantly from economic and technical cooperation with Japan. Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan to Jamaica is provided mainly in the form of grants, loans and technical assistance. Recent benefits received from the Government of Japan include:
Grant of US$650,000 to improve infrastructure and amenities in various inner-city communities of Jamaica;
Contribution of US$850,000 to the Portland branch of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) to boost agricultural production and improve marketing skills among farmers;
Donation of a 42-foot fishing vessel to the Caribbean Maritime Institute to facilitate training in deep water fishing and assist with fisheries research;
Donation of US$111,000 in relief equipment to Jamaica following Hurricane Ivan in 2004;
Transfer of technology and equipment to Jamaica for the manufacture of paper from the fibre of banana plants, through the collaboration of Professor Hiroshi Morishima of Nagoya City University and the UNIDO office in Japan.
Donation of approximately US$130,000 in emergency relief supplies following Hurricane Dean in August 2007.
Technical Assistance
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is responsible for the technical cooperation aspect of Japan’s ODA and implements a number of projects through their representative office in Jamaica, in collaboration with the Planning Institute of Jamaica and various Jamaican ministries and departments.
JICA’s technical assistance activities in Jamaica include:
- Technical training in Japan and third countries – More than twenty Jamaicans were accepted for training in Japan in 2005;
- Dispatch of Senior Volunteers and experts;
- Dispatch of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) – Since the introduction of the programme to
- Jamaica in July 1989, more than 150 volunteers have worked in various areas including agriculture, forestry and fisheries, civil engineering, public health care, education, culture and sports;
- Provision of equipment;
- Emergency disaster relief;
- Japan-Latin America Friendship Programme/Youth Invitation Programme;
Information on JICA Training Courses in Japan may be obtained from:
- The Cabinet Office
Scholarships and Assistance Unit
JAMPRO Building
18 Trafalgar Road
Kingston 5, Jamaica - JICA Jamaica Office
6 St. Lucia Avenue
Kingston 5, Jamaica
www.jica.go.jp/jamaica
Loans
Loans are allocated through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and are used for infrastructural development. More than US$550 million has been provided on loan to the Government of Jamaica to implement nine (9) projects, including the Kingston Metropolitan Area Water Supply and Rehabilitation Project and the Northern Jamaica Development Project.
Grants
Grant aid is provided to Jamaica through the Embassy of Japan in Kingston and by JICA. Grants are also channeled through Japanese Trust Funds which are administered by the World Bank, the United Nations and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).
The Cultural Grant programme provides grants on an annual basis to assist in cultural development projects. Since 1985, a total of US$6 million has been provided to Jamaica for 14 different projects. The beneficiaries have included the Jamaica National Heritage Trust and the Jamaica Library Service.
The Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects Programme (GGP) provides flexible support to development projects involving non-governmental organizations (NGOs), hospitals, primary schools, research institutions, local authorities and other non-profit organizations. Since 1995 Jamaica has received approximately US$2.7 million under this programme for some 50 different projects.
Special Donations and Gifts
Jamaica has also benefited from donations and gifts from various groups in Japan.
A total of US$298,254 was donated in 2004 for Hurricane Ivan Relief by a number of generous Jamaicans and other compassionate individuals, as well as by several institutions, including the Japanese Red Cross Society, UCC Ueshima Coffee Company, Key Coffee, the Association of Jamaicans in Japan (AJJ) and Mighty Crown Entertainment.
The Tokyo municipality of Arakawa-ku has been a consistent friend of Jamaica. Each year since 2001, the Board of Education of Arakawa-Ku has donated some 1500 desks and chairs to the Ministry of Education of Jamaica, for use in primary and secondary schools throughout the island. This programme has involved the active support of the children and parents of Arakawa-ku and has been of tremendous assistance to Jamaica. The Tokyo municipality of Bunkyo-ku joined the programme in 2006.
The Japan-Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Association makes donations each year from the proceeds of their annual charity bazaar and other fund-raising events. In 2005, the Association donated US$6,862 to the Jamaica Hurricane Ivan Relief Fund, while in 2006 a total of US$7,116 was donated to the Bustamante Children’s Hospital. In 2007 US$7,225.91 was donated to Missionaries of the Poor, Kingston.
The Japan Firefighters Association donated over 30 used fire trucks and ambulances to Jamaica over a four-year period ending in 2004.
The Association of Jamaicans in Japan (AJJ) has also made valuable donations to Jamaica, including the establishment of a computer lab at the Norman Gardens School in Kingston, the provision of books and equipment to various institutions and the supply of funds to pay for a shipment of pianos to Jamaica. The AJJ also organized a Reggae Unite Concert in 2005 to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in South Asia and in aid of the Jamaica Hurricane Ivan Relief Fund.
The Women’s Federation for World Peace has provided active and ongoing support to various children’s homes in Jamaica and to the Violence Prevention Centre at the University of the West Indies.
Mr. Norman Munroe, a Jamaican JET participant based in Miyazaki Prefecture, organized a collection of musical instruments in 2005, including several recorders, trumpets, castanets and saxophones, which were gratefully received by various schools in Jamaica.
In June 2007, Miss Venecia Williams and Mr. Desmond Linton, Jamaican nationals residing in Aichi prefecture, donated several boxes of stationery and supplies to basic schools in Jamaica.
Jamaica appreciates these expressions of friendship and support and encourages others who may have an interest in this area to contact the Embassy of Jamaica. Additional information may be found under Donations to Jamaica.
In 2008 US$7,894 was donated to the School for Therapy Education and
Parenting (STEP) Centre.