Equipment For Special Needs Children

New EFJ boss makes raising funds a priority

ATTRACTING long-term funding to sustain the work of the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica (EFJ) tops the list of priorities for new chief executive officer Karen McDonald-Gayle.

"The EFJ has a particular challenge now of securing funds for continuing the grant-making work it has been doing for the last 18 years," said McDonald-Gayle, whose appointment became effective on February 1, having acted in the position for roughly a year.

"I hope to be able to showcase the work of the foundation through the work of our amazing grantees all across Jamaica, with over 1,200 environment and child projects, to demonstrate to anyone willing to hear that we can keep this going for another 18 years and beyond," she added.

McDonald-Gayle — who previously served as programme manager with responsibility for the direction of the grant management — said to realise their goal, the EFJ would utilise the elements of the most recent strategic plan, formulated in 2009.

"The EFJ's current strategic plan involves improved efficiencies in operation, improved research and communication and PR about the work and impact we are having all around the island. (It also involves) continued on-the-ground grassroots projects with grantees making national change one community at a time, and securing and growing the EFJ's endowment fund to make sure we can keep on going," she told Environment Watch.

"I came to the EFJ and met a strong system in place which designed annual work plans from five-year strategic planning cycles. The 2009-2012 plan was deliberately shortened to concentrate the focus on our communication and endowment growth processes," McDonald-Gayle added.

She would provide no details as to the current sums in the kitty, but said the organisation -- the result of a debt swap between the governments of Jamaica and the United States and designed to foster natural resources conservation and child development locally — had been getting bang for the buck.

"We have limited funds from the current debt swap, but we are using our years of experience and networking to make the most of those funds," said McDonald-Gayle, who at one time worked as acting team leader in the Office of the Environment and as mission environmental officer with the US Agency for International Development.

"In 2010, we were able to report $1.68 for every EFJ dollar spent in the field and I expect that number to be even higher in 2011. That is no small achievement and is something we are very proud of. It is a way of 'stretching' our dollars in Jamaica's best interest," she added.

Reece's Rainbow: Meet the Families of Reece's Rainbow - The ...

We are the Stewart Family, from Atlanta, Georgia! I am mom, Gretchen, 40, there is Dad, Craig, also 40, and our son Ari, who is 4 years old. I am a special education administrator and Craig works in IT. Ari attends preschool through a special program for children with special needs. Ari loves to swim, ride horses, and drive his John Deer power wheels! Ari is an amazing kid and he is really ready for his big brother to come home. Our schedules are busy with therapy and family fun! We love to travel on day trips to the lake or just relax at home. We can’t wait to have another little boy running around our home and keeping us busy! We are a Christian family who relies on faith and prayer, as well as study, to guide us in how to live. We support others through provision of special needs equipment for children whose families have no financial resources, and we sponsor child in Haiti through Compassion International, whom we committed to sponsor until she is 18 years old (she is now 5). We can’t wait until our boys are older and we can all go on mission trips together! Craig and I love to take photographs, and we have enjoyed doing free photo sessions for families with children with the debilitating disease Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). We have made many dear friends this year through Reece’s Rainbow who are also adopting and we have been able to meet a number of families from the Atlanta area who are in the process of brining children home! We are ready for Ian to come home and we are excited and nervous for the next few weeks are we prepare for court and to bring him home. We first saw Ian on Reece’s Rainbow in May of 2010. A month later, after Gretchen began to have sleepless nights over what might happen to Ian if he was not adopted, she went to Craig and asked him if they could bring him home! Craig said yes, and so the journey began. Ian was 4 years old when we first saw his photo. He turned 5 years old 3 days before we made our first trip to his country to meet him. Ian is an energetic and happy child! During our visits with him, we all had plenty of fun laughing and playing. We were told that Ian does not speak, but when we met him, he did! He only said one word, but to us, it was confirmation that he can speak and that with love, attention, and the right interventions, he are confident he will be talking so much we’ll be wishing for some silence every now and then!

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