NAJASO Elects New Officers, Plans to Re-Brand, Re-Launch
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dr. Joyce El Ali, newly elected president of the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO), plans to re-brand and re-launch the diaspora organization to respond to the changing needs of the community.
“El Ali, Dr. Joyce”Addressing the annual general meeting of the association recently, Dr. El Ali told the members “it is time to re-assess NAJASO’s performance and develop plans and programs geared toward re-introducing its relevance and attractiveness to existing and potential members.
“We must reset NAJASO’s trajectory for attaining a sustainable future. We must review where NAJASO has been and where it is heading. This administration must seize the opportunity to create a new path for NAJASO and modernize its structure, its focus and its engagement efforts.
“We need to find new ways of reaching prospective members,” she added. “We need to be prepared to change the structure of NAJASO by acknowledging that what worked almost five decades ago may not work going forward. Consequently, we must be prepared to work hard at developing plans and programs aimed at rebranding and relaunching NAJASO.”
CONTRIBUTION
Over the years, the organization has contributed scholarships to students at the University of the West Indies, organized medical missions to Jamaica and contributed to early childhood projects in St. James, St. Catherine and Kingston.
Recently, NAJASO contributed $11,000 to Jamaica’s COVID-19 Telethon “Together We Stand”, plus an additional $2,000 earmarked for meals to children in depressed areas of Jamaica.
The other new NAJASO board members are:
Dr. Richard E. Constable, chairman; Rick Nugent, executive vice president; Janice Wisdom, executive secretary; Derrick L. Harvey, treasurer; and Beverly Morrison, recording secretary.
NAJASO was launched 47 years ago by former Jamaican Ambassador to the United States Alfred Rattray, who believed there was a need to bring all the Jamaican organizations in the United States under one umbrella.
