With these teams in place , we co-create the vision and the mission of the work . We also have a firm idea of the scope of work needed throughout the Northeast .
Specialists complement the state chairs who actively support the five sectors the Diaspora most actively engages . The State Chairs and Sector leaders comprise our think tank . As the work happens in Sectors , we meet monthly and then convene around priority areas to address the needs of our people in the Northeast and Jamaica itself . In the beginning , the Northeast was a divided Diaspora community , and several individuals expressed that our role as council members did not acknowledge enough feedback from the stakeholders . Therefore , the first order of business was to pull the community together because it was broken and fragmented . In my role , I felt a tremendous amount of responsibility to reach across the aisles with humility to different community leaders , groups , and individuals to listen to them and collaborate with them on the way forward .
One critical mandate is to have a more authentic and reciprocal relationship with Jamaica beyond sending money or material resources . It was essential to communicate to the broader public that the Diaspora was not an elite club . That once you live outside of Jamaica , you are a member of the Diaspora . So , you don ' t have to be a lawyer or doctor with letters behind your name to participate .
The Diaspora belongs to all of us — housekeeper , unemployed , uber driver , farmworker , doctor , lawyer , politician , teacher- as long as you live outside of Jamaica , you are a member , and you can help contribute . We are changing the narrative .
TBWM : We must acknowledge the difference that women can make in bringing people together in the way that counts ; one of unity . Unfortunately , we receive flack because our response may be construed as emotional vs empathy and being able to understand and zero in on the needs that will make the community flourish . Which I believe is our strength . Dr . Dunkley : I think that our Jamaican community can be very unkind to women leaders sometimes . What they ask me to do in this role they would not ask my male counterparts to do . The level of sacrifice , the time commitments , and the different demands they make of me , they would never ask a male . There is still a segment in Jamaican society that feels you must bend the knee and kiss the ring . If you do not , they have nothing good or kind to say , or they present you in such a way that is unfavorable even if they do not know you . And if they know you , they choose not to tell the truth because these individuals want to portray an image or perception of who they think you are . And I am very aware . I live in that space all the time ; I negotiate in that space , and I ' m ready for all of it . Women are nurturers , and we know that a woman changes things . As women , we care deeply and passionately . However , I believe in the balance that the universe commands . We need our men . Men and women need each other .
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