Edward Seaga
Human Resource Development
Mr. Seaga’s most satisfying area of endeavour has been the creation of several outstanding social programmes especially for young people. Among them are: the Human Employment and Resource Training Programme (HEART), which began in 1983 and provides job-related training for school leavers and drop-outs on a wide scale throughout Jamaica. This has had a most positive impact on the expansion of skills and job capabilities of young people. L.E.A.P. (Learning for Earning Activity Programme) was established by Mr. Seaga in 1986 to provide training for street children. In 1988 he successfully raised funds from the European Union LOME facility to build residential halls for the University of the West Indies , University of Technology and the Cultural Training Centre (now the Edna Manley School of Art).
In 1985, he launched Solidarity, a programme to finance and stimulate entrepreneurship among young people by giving them loans and guidance in establishing their own micro-businesses.
In 1970 Mr. Seaga launched the Student Revolving Loan Fund to assist needy students at university level.
Food Aid Programme
The Food Aid Programme was established by Mr. Seaga in 1983 to assist the poorest groups in the society by supplementing their food supply. The most significant beneficiaries under this programme are primary school children, who receive a high protein lunch daily. In addition, pregnant and nursing mothers, children under three, the indigent, disabled and elderly receive food stamps to assist them to improve dietary needs.
Golden Age Homes
The Golden Age movement was launched by Mr. Seaga in the 1960s and a new concept in modern community care for the aged. The first Golden Age Home was built in 1985, as a modern, planned home for the aged.
CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Seaga has often said that his first love is Culture, and his monumental achievements in this field stand as a testament to this.
He created and established the Jamaica Festival, (in which institutions, groups and individuals compete annually in the literary, performing, plastic and graphic arts, as well as culinary skills, leading up to the Independence celebrations). He also introduced National Heritage Week. The Jamaica Festival has become the showcase of Jamaican talent and the cradle of our traditional folk culture.
In the 1960’s while he was Minister of Development and Welfare, Mr. Seaga gave Jamaican popular music (Ska) its first exposure to the international scene by promoting overseas tours of Jamaican artistes. Together with his own pioneering work in the recording of Jamaican Music, this laid the foundations for the international emergence of Reggae, now popular worldwide. He established a craft development company – Things Jamaican – in 1961 to nurture the development of Jamaica ’s handicraft, made Devon House a national monument to showcase our heritage and craft and completed plans for the re-development of Port Royal , Seville and Spanish Town as archaeological parks of international renown.
He introduced colour television in 1962 and in 1988 divested several government owned radio stations private interests and the church.
Mr. Seaga conceived and designed the Cultural Training Centre for all the Arts (drama, music, painting/sculpture and dance), and donated his own extensive collection of folk music of Jamaica to the School of Music .
Mr. Seaga influenced the careers of several internationally acclaimed Jamaican popular artistes and played a major role in introducing the work of the world-famous Jamaican intuitive artist Mallica `Kapo’ Reynolds.
He also inaugurated the respected Jamaica Journal, published quarterly by the Institute of Jamaica , which is devoted to promoting the arts, natural history, sociology and science through publications.
Mr. Seaga played a principal part in the return of the body of Marcus Garvey to Jamaica and in establishing the nation’s highest order, that of National Hero, of which Garvey was the first recipient.
