GraceKennedy Foundation Cancels the 2020 GK Jamaican Birthright Programme as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the GraceKennedy Foundation is announcing the cancellation of the 2020 GraceKennedy Jamaican Birthright Programme, which was slated to host four university students from the United States, Canada and the UK, for a six week internship in Jamaica, starting at the end of June 2020.
“Based on what is happening worldwide with the spread of the virus, the Foundation was left with very little choice but to cancel this year’s Birthright staging. Given the effects of the pandemic on health, as well as on movement and travel, the programme just could not be a reality this year. We hope to have it up and running for 2021, all things being equal,” said GraceKennedy Foundation Executive Director, Caroline Mahfood.
She advised that the 2020 cohort of Birthright candidates had been selected before the onset of the pandemic. “We therefore informed them that their offer will be deferred to the 2021 internship, pending the reinstatement of the programme,” she said.
The GraceKennedy Jamaican Birthright Programme is an all-expense paid cultural and professional immersion internship programme for university students of Jamaican heritage from Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
