the COVID-19 pandemic on 19 July. The Jamaican Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, and Leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips, delivered messages of appreciation. Among medical personnel attending were pharmacists, lab technicians, ambulance drivers, porters, doctors and nurses, as well as sanitation workers, the police and security agents, many of whom were in uniform. Lauded as “Healers of the Nation”, Rev Astor Carlyle, Minister of the Webster Charge, paid tribute to their “indomitable, courageous and compassionate spirit” in rendering their services. In his sermon themed “Jesus, Healer of Broken Bodies” and based on Mark 2:1-12, Rev Carlyle likened their country Jamaica to the paralysed man, and their nation’s frontline workers to the man’s companions bringing vital resources to save the nation. He also challenged the congregation to the compassionate cooperation and companionship that had been exhibited, to “honourably serve with ears attentive to the cries of their sisters and brothers”, and for their actions to speak louder than their words to care for persons. GCU youth supporting families The Ubuntu Young People Organisation (UYPO) supports families in crisis through a Food Hamper Distribution Project. UYPO, is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) operated by young people in Guyana some of whom are members of the Guyana Congregational Union (GCU). 12
Founder and former Training in Mission participant Ominell Boyce noted, “We have the distribution done annually, so we select families that are finding it difficult to give children the proper nourishment they need.” According to Ominell, to select the families, UYPO works in partnership with organisations within the community including the community policing group, teachers as well as counsellors who work with the neighbourhood and the Democratic Council, an organ of local government. The project was initiated after the young people observed that even though there were feeding programmes within the schools, there weren’t nutritious meals prepared for the children when they got home. UYPO’s goal is to progress to a monthly distribution. The organisation has received feedback that the hampers (mainly groceries) have been a significant help to the families that have benefitted. 18 families have benefitted so far this year and were also encouraged to start a kitchen garden in order to sustain their households.
| HUMANITY WINS Indigenous trackers offer lessons on wildlife The San are an indigenous people living across South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, who have been passing down expertise on their land and fauna from generation to generation for thousands of years. Louis Liebenberg, an associate of human INSiGHT | August 2020
evolutionary biology at Harvard University, has developed free software that allows the San animal trackers in the Kalahari to share tracking insights and create better data on biodiversity. The San people carry smartphones, using an icon-based interface to input their findings including where they have heard and seen wildlife, as well as sightings of animal tracks and faeces, based on group consensus. Species and geolocation data are uploaded to a solar-powered laptop by trackers and sent to Liebenberg. In exchange, they are paid for their work, turning a way of life into a vocation.
Image via summarizer.co
Liebenberg, also the executive director of CyberTrackerConservation, had been connecting indigenous San groups in Namibia with scientists worldwide for over 20 years, and said that this system is quicker than text-based logging and is inclusive of illiterate people. Since its initial roll out, the app has evolved and been downloaded more than half a million times in over 200 countries, and has been used by indigenous trackers in Australia; for land management in Canada; PhD studies on bottlenose dolphins off New Zealand; whale monitoring in Antarctica and turtle research in the Pacific. 1
