John Osborne, entrepreneur and son of the late chief minister John A. Osborne announced on Wednesday a new charity to support youth initiatives here.
Osborne said on ZJB’s The Breakfast Show that he has launched MYSELF – Montserrat Youth Sports Enterprise and Learning Fund.
“Throughout my time being back on island I’ve always wondered how politically we want to rebuild our little island but we never focus on the people who are actually going to rebuild it. That being our youth. I’ve still yet to see any sizable increases, if any at all, for youth education and development. Sometimes it almost seems like we’d prefer to build retirement homes than to create proper learning facilities,” Osborne noted on his social media page announcing the fund. “The aim of this project is to therefore make Montserrat a more conducive environment for youth development by helping to raise additional funding outside of government and to spark some real development in our little island.”
The business man, who owns Osborne’s Service Centre and a new agriculture farm, said he has the support of the Bank of Montserrat to manage the funds. Over the coming weeks, he will be distributing boxes for donations across the island and sharing how residents here and those abroad can contribute to the charity and also help to decide how the funds will be used.