Photo Captions Top: Jason Williams aka Golden Child head of the Golden Child Music Group operating out of the US
Below: Fourteen year old Sicourney Jackson of the Queens School in Kingston Jamaica receives one of her awards from Government Senator Norman Grant at the Wyndham Kingston Jamaica, at the Autism and Disabilities Awards Banquet sponsored by the Hotel held on Saturday April 28-2012.
“It is my pleasure… all the time to be a part of the advancement of any student’s life, particularly those in Jamaica my home. I hope that winner of Jamaica’s Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors Competition 2012; will get easier access to the resources that will enhance her academic output, through the sponsorship input the Golden Child Music Group chose to offer this year”.
“Fourteen year old Sicourney Jackson is just the type of Jamaican young woman and student we at the Golden Child Music Group want to encourage and develop, as a part of aiding the progress of our great nation Jamaica’, these were the sentiments of Jason Williams a.k.a Don Yute head of the Golden Child Music Group based in the United Sates.
He added that while May is the month designated in Jamaica for the celebration of our youth, it must be not be relegated to a mere month, but must see year round activities by all who are stewards of Jamaica’s young people – where we can encourage and motivate Jamaican children to be better.
Mr. Williams adds that all year round, just as how there was the Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors Competition in April of this year, opportunities must be created by those who can, to let youth excel outside of the classroom, build their resumes, abilities and self-confidence.
Mr. Williams made his remarks against the background of National Child’s Month here in Jamaica in tandem with his involvement with The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation which focuses heavily on children and helping them and their families cope with their disorders and disabilities.
Making his statements this Child’s Month , he had high congratulations for 14 year old Sicourney Jackson the overall winner of this year’s Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors Competition, staged by The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation to commemorate global Autism month April 2012.
He said that it should be the concerted effort of the entertainment community to help uplift children in a positive way, not just during Child’s Month but all throughout the year, especially since most Jamaican entertainers have their heaviest support from the youth market and many Jamaican stars are parents themselves.
Williams sponsored this year’s Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors competition staged by The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation for 2012, which saw his organization providing as one of the prizes won by Sicourney; a new Compaq Presario laptop to aid her in her studies. She is a student of the Queens School for Girls in Kingston Jamaica.
Early this year Don Yute pledged his support to the cause of aiding those affected by Autism and Disabilities in Jamaica working specifically with The Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation.
He fully intends to continue his support of the competition and the children of Jamaica and is calling on his fellow entertainers from Jamaica, whether based her or abroad to remember Jamaica’s children and to consciously put aside from their earnings a portion to ensure that the youth of Jamaica turn out to be positive people who can make the Jamaican nation greater.
Sicourney Jackson distinguished herself just at the beginning of this Child’s Month when she wrote - “I believe that autistics should still be treated with the same level of respect. They have the same rights that any normal person has and even though they have a disability, it doesn’t mean they are not capable of anything. They deserve to be treated in a special way so that we can learn from them and they can learn from us. There is no exact explanation of the causes of autism but most of these persons go through life with the help of others and a lot of support from the persons who are dedicated to serving persons with disabilities.”
Sicourney has made history by being the only choice this year by judges for her work between January and April 2012, for this year’s Maia Chung Autism and Disabilities Foundation’s Autism and Disabilities Ambassadors competition.
During that period she set up displays at her school as well as at a Jamaican mosque working closely with her supervisor, to get the work established.
She wrote letters to the editors of the national newspaper, to advocate for citizenry to be mindful and more careful of how they treat with the nation’s disabled also.
She also wrote a required essay on a disability of her choice, which was adjudged the best receiving the highest score of all submitted 9 out 10 from the competition’s judges.
Out of 100 entrants from across the nation, Sicourney distinguished herself as the only young person to stay the course of the three month assessment period, maintaining a high standard of delivery of all the requirements to win the contest.
The judging panel consisted of all 8 members’ board of directors of the Foundation as well as new sponsorship partners such as dancehall legend Don Yute and Senator Norman Grant patron of the Autism and Disabilities Foundation.
