Hello Friend:

I have some exciting news I want to share with you.

Shamere McKenzie Human Trafficking Ambassador for Jamaica

On July 25-26, 2018, Jamaica’s National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons (NATFATIP) hosted the first forum of its kind to be convened in the Caribbean – “The Hard Road to Recovery: From Victim to Survivor”.  The inaugural international conference was held at the Melia Braco Village Hotel in Trelawny, Jamaica.

The main objectives of the conference were to:

• Increase public awareness to discourage these activities and to warn those who are unaware.
• Train officials throughout the public and private sectors on identifying victims of trafficking.
• Build capacities through legislation and institutional strengthening.

“The opening ceremony included the sashing of the island’s first-ever Human Trafficking Ambassadors, Miss Jamaica World 2017, Solange Sinclair, and Founder of The Sun Gate Foundation and human trafficking survivor, Shamere McKenzie, who also delivered the keynote address.”

“There can be no more powerful voice than that of a person who has survived and who has recovered to speak to the challenges faced by victims of trafficking on their journey to recovery from the pain and trauma they have experienced. She is one of two ambassadors who have agreed to lend their public image and voice to Jamaica’s national effort to fight against human trafficking.” Carol Palmer, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice.

It is such an honor to serve my country in this capacity. Over the years I have been making strides in the US to combat the issue of human trafficking but deep down I wanted to be involved in my birth country. I have laced up my boot strings, put on my boxing gloves and is ready to join efforts with the NATFATIP and others in Jamaica fighting trafficking.

Other speakers and presenters of the conference include:

• Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, MP – Minister of National Security
• Mrs. Carol Palmer, CD, JP, – Chair, NATFATIP
• Her Excellency Ms. Magorzata Wasilewska – Head of the European Union Delegation to Jamaica
• Her Excellency Ms. Laurie Peters – Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica
• Mr. Mark Seibel – Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy
• Speakers from Romania, New York, Interpol and others

(Left to right – CEO of Sun Gate Foundation, Shamere McKenzie; Miss Jamaica World 2017 Solange Sinclair and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Chair of NATFATIP, Carol Palmer) 

Shamere McKenzie Educational Scholarship in Jamaica
Earlier this year I did an interview with BBC World Service – Outlook as a follow up from a previous interview I did with my mentor Kevin Bales in the UK.  Following the interview, I was contacted by an official in Malawi, Africa asking to use my name for an educational scholarship in his country. I thought to myself, if there is a Shamere McKenzie scholarship in Africa, there ought to be one in Jamaica.  I reached out to a few people and the timing was perfect.

As a result, I have partnered with the Lasco Chin Foundation to provide the Shamere McKenzie Educational Scholarship to survivors of child sexual abuse and human trafficking. This is a small scholarship as I will be using my personal money to fund the scholarship. Therefore, please let me know if you are interested in partnering with me on this.  This scholarship is part of a bigger initiative that the foundation is doing – the Sustainable Socio-Economic Intervention (SSI) model.

LASCO Chin Foundation is a recently established non-profit organization with a mission of early intervention to help Jamaica’s at-risk youth develop the relationships, goals and capacities needed to break the cycle of poverty and crime and become productive members of society, especially as successful entrepreneurs. In pursuit of this mission, they  have designed a Sustainable Socio-Economic Intervention (SSI) model© intended to break the cycle of poverty and crime for the most disenfranchised youth living in the most troubled communities.

In September 2018, they will pilot the SSI Scholarship Program which will target high school students in a specific community and provide a comprehensive set of supporting interventions to assist them in school, at home and in their community, including, but not limited to:

• Financial support, to cover school fees; books and school supplies; school uniform, shoes and physical education gears; transportation needs; computing needs; extracurricular activities and extra lessons to meet the needs and career goals of the targeted student (to be determined on an individual basis);
• Nutritional support, to ensure the student has adequate food during their tenure at school;
• Parental support, including entrepreneurship assistance for parents/guardians where needed;
• Professional mentorship support, providing 1:1 extended supportive relationships using qualified professionals, including social workers, psychologists and educational professionals as needed; and
• Community support, from a network of community resources.

The official launch will take place in November in Florida and will include several dignitaries from Jamaica; CEO of the Lasco Chin Foundation, Dr. Rosalie Hamilton; Founder of Lasco Chin Foundation Lasalle Chin and myself.  This event is open to the public so if you are interested in being a part of the celebration or being in part of the SSI model, please let me know and I will connect you.

Please be reminded that I am available for consulting, training and speaking events. A percentage of my honorarium and speaker fees will go towards the Shamere McKenzie Educational Scholarship in Jamaica.

Once again, thank you for your continued support and investing in survivors of human trafficking.

Kindest Regards,

Shamere McKenzie
Chief Executive Officer 
Sun Gate Foundation