Access Jamaica launches Jamaica Diaspora Campaign to encourage Jamaicans living in Canada to renew or replace their passports

BY PAUL JUNOR

Since it was established on June 1^st, 2007, the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) has been involved in extensive outreach to the Jamaican diaspora in North America. According to their website: www.pica.gov.jm as an Executive Agency, it is intended to be a “self-financing, performance-based and service-oriented institution.

The vision of PICA is to contribute to a safe, secure and prosperous society by safeguarding Jamaica’s borders, enhancing a sense of belonging and facilitating cross-border travel while being financially self-sufficient.

In order to fulfil this vision, PICA is driven by its mission to be an innovative, customer-oriented, strategy-focused and technology-driven organization, and through strategic partnerships will contribute to Jamaica being amongst the most secure countries with the best international travel experience in the Americas. This vision and mission are reflected in its four core values:

• Professionalism – We strive for excellence and continued self-improvement whilst adhering to the highest standards of moral and ethical values
• Integrity -We operate within the prescribed policies and procedures, determined at all times to avoid impropriety and conflict of interest
• Customer Service – We are dedicated to satisfying our customers and therefore believe in respecting our customers, listening to their requests, and understanding expectations
• Accountability – We are accountable to our customers and fellow employees demonstrated by understanding our roles and responsibilities for every action and decision.

I Interviewed Delly Vassell (Director of Customer Service of PICA) who spoke to me on behalf of Andrew Wynter (PICA’s Chief Executive Officer) regarding an exciting initiative titled, “Access Jamaica,” which is taking place in Toronto from Thursday, July 7^th, 2022- Sunday, July 19^th, 2022. She told me that there have been similar events held in Hartford, Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale within the last few years, but this is the first time that it will be coming to Canada.

She mentioned that the feedback from these events was positive, and PICA decided to expand their full services to the Jamaican diaspora community.

After closing down in April 2019 because of the COVID- 19 pandemic, PICA resumed operations in August 2021. Ms Vassell reiterates that a range of services will be available to deal with passport, immigration, and citizenship concerns.

There will be a 16-member delegation from PICA who are equipped to answer any questions that may arise. There will be a photographer on site who will be available to take photographs for $30 which includes delivery. It is important that any Jamaican interested in the services registered in advance at www.pica.gov.jm, as this would allow PICA to make appropriate plans in advance. If this is not possible, on-site registrations will be accepted

Ms. Vassel states that partners such as Grace Kennedy, VM Building, Consulate General of Jamaica and Tax Administration Jamaica have been integral to this initiative. They will be present on July 7th- 9th between 9:00 am – 2:30 pm and July 10th between 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm at Ebenezer Holiness Church of God located at 101 Rossdean Drive in North York. She states that different social media platforms will be used to promote this event and there are great expectations about the possibilities and what this means for the Jamaican diaspora.