The Mico University College has conferred an honorary doctoral degree on one of the island’s foremost philanthropists.
The co-founder of the Phillip and Christine Gore Family Foundation, Christine Gore was invested with the 2021 Doctor of Education in Leadership (Honoris Causa) degree on Wednesday at the institution’s virtual graduation exercise for the Class of 2021.
In accepting the doctorate, Gore paid tribute to her husband Phillip whose ‘vision and advice have been immeasurable’, as well as the hard work of team members who have contributed to the success of the foundation’s interventions.
Over the past eight years, the Phillip and Christine Gore Family Foundation has worked in collaboration with the Early Childhood Commission to upgrade both the physical spaces and the education delivery process at 10 basic schools supported by the foundation.
In addition, the Foundation has assisted budding student-athletes, high school students and at-risk youth, in addition to supporting Jamaica College and providing scholarships to 100 students at UTech Jamaica, Mico and UWI, Mona.
‘My husband and I have waited impatiently for the developmental journey of our beloved Jamaica to reach its final destination. Why can’t Jamaica become a developed nation, with all the benefits that our people would enjoy? So, instead of shouting in the wind, we decided to take action and do our part. We closed my law practice and since then I have devoted my full-time attention to our philanthropic projects. Our primary focus has always been education and we saw early childhood education as being the most significant area for investment’, Gore shared in her acceptance speech.
Gore congratulated the graduates in education studies and told them the real work is ahead.
‘The truth is…for though everyone acknowledges the importance of education, very few are willing to invest what is required – much less what is deserved’, she stated.
She expressed disappointment at the lack of new approaches to the administration of education in Jamaica, noting that ‘…everyone pays lip-service to progress, but nobody wants to change. So, as you [graduates] embark on your careers and try to implement new and improved ways of doing things, remember that you are going to be greeted by resistance. Prepare for it; accept it; deal with it; in that way you will not be disappointed.’
She expressed grief with the ‘data concerning the unpreparedness of children entering Grade 1 in schools across [the island].’
This information was the catalyst for our commitment to early childhood education and provided by the Ministry of Education, ‘so it is not a secret, although very few speak of it’, adding that there’s a problem that needs to be addressed.
Returning all Jamaican students at every level to face-to-face classes was a key portion of her concern.
She concurred with UNICEF’s assessment of the closure of schools as ‘a catastrophic educational emergency’.
‘The toll that the closure of schools has taken on our student population has to be addressed urgently. We, therefore, call upon the government to make the required financial allocation to reverse the learning loss and address the social, physical and emotional toll that the closure of schools has taken on our children. This is an urgent and immediate need of the children of Jamaica,’ she said before closing.
Source: Loop Jamaica News