The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation is happy to announce that 18 Nicole Nation is the overall winner of the inaugural Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors competition; of The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation (MCADF).
The competition is one of the main efforts of the Foundation to help heighten awareness about Autism and other disabilities, staged between January of this year and culminating during April global Autism month.
Ms Nation won the overall effort through writing letters to the editor, published in the Jamaica Observer calling for more tolerance for the disabled, as well as writing poems about acknowledging the plight of the disabled published in The Sunday Gleaner's Literature page.
Nation also organised a display at her school library, towards heightening awareness about various disabilities. The display consisted of well designed posters about various disabilities accompanied by text teaching about the disabilities highlighted. The display was chosen to become a part of the school's library resources.
She also mounted a fundraiser for a disabilities club on her school campus; raising several thousand dollars and submitted an essay about her response and understanding about a disability of her choice.
Miss Nation is a student of the Montego Bay Community College.
She mounted her activities, alongside carrying out her school work - starting in January 2011 when the competition was launched, until April 1-2011 when the period ended.
Ms. Nation also volunteered at her sign language club to help persons with disabilities during this period.
Miss Nation was the overall winner in the competition which yielded only one other Ambassador Javanna Haughton also 18.
Managing Director of The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation - Maia Chung said - "the competition was designed to see the competitors showing staying power and a true desire to be among the disabled in a positive way. We hope to show those who chose to enter that the disabled are great human beings who need our help in a special way."
She adds -" we also hoped to open these kids eyes to the fact that hey, there might even be a viable satisfying job in this field for me".
Chung added that Ms. Nation was particularly impressive as as she carried out her projects under the supervision of a teacher at her school Montego Bay Community College.
She corresponded with the Foundation frequently and advised us of what she was learning as she interacted in a much deeper way with the disabled than she ever had before.
The judges of the competition included the Foundation's board which consists of 8 people.
Pending MCADF board member Nicole Hayles McGowan who is also media specialist also judged, sponsors also played a role in choosing and monitoring as well as assessing the work. This included Foundation patron and sponsor of the competition Senator Norman Grant.
Chung says that even though the Foundation hoped to find six young people to be crowned as the inaugural Ambassadors, because of its specially designed focus the competition wanted to find a special type of winner, who would be awarded for a truth of effort necessary in this type of competition, as upon being awarded these individuals will go on to assist us in our work with the disabled.
Chung says you cannot be impatient, superficial or unkind and come into the disabilities community - and these qualities take a long time to discern.
She added, "in fact we had competitors drop out after stage one saying they couldn't bother". This was saddening Chung adds.
In these instances the Foundation's organisers congratulated themselves on having chosen this particular design to yield the best Ambassadors.
Ms. Nation has won almost prizes valued at approximately 100-thousand dollars!
She will receive a paid 3 month internship at The Jamaica Observer, a certified training programme at the Creative Production Training Centre's Media Training Institute in the Art of Public Speaking, she will receive 15 thousand dollars in cash, as well as The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities and Senator Norman Grant Autism and Disabilities Trophy.
In an early response to her win Ms. Nation said the following, "I wish to sincerely thank you (MCADF) for this opportunity and I am genuinely grateful for the prospects that you have afforded me through your foundation. I will not disappoint as i will prove to you that 'to ' whom much is given much is expected. I would sincerely like to tell you outright that I am the complete disposal of the foundation, you can use me in any way you want".
Sponsors of the competition are The Jamaica Gleaner's Youth Link , Super Plus, Jablum, Mavis Bank Coffee Factory, the Creative Production Training Centre's (CPTC) Media Training Institute, The Jamaica Observer, Senator Norman Grant and Kwasi Tinglin.
The Foundation has nothing but honour and immense gratitude to all our Sponsors without which we could not motivate these youngsters in the way we have and reward them for being very special. Due to the fact that we have no money and rely on these great companies and individuals we always encourage Jamaicans to support the companies and organisations that help us. As by buying their products you are affording them the ability to help the less fortunate.
Chung added that all these companies are great bastions of our society spending with the disabilities community no matter what the economic state.
She adds, " these groups seem to understand more than any other group that no matter what the economy is like we the marginalised or the weak have no alternative but the strong and we thank all of you most wholeheartedly".
