Blog

When the Storm Is Not the Worst Thing That Happened

October 20, 2026

Disaster does not arrive equally. It lands hardest on those who were already carrying the most. And sometimes, it is only the second worst thing to have happened. For 65-year…

ODJF Strengthens Hurricane Recovery for Persons with Disabilities in Western Jamaica through CCDA

August 9, 2026

The Open Door Jamaica Foundation (ODJF) has strengthened its support for persons with disabilities affected by Hurricane Melissa with the donation of 50 comprehensive care packages and critical assistive and…

PAH! Deaf Dancers Win Gold at WCOPA 2026: How Jamaica’s Disability Community Reached the World Stage

July 24, 2026

Jamaica's PAH! Deaf Dance Company – the first deaf dance group to represent Jamaica internationally — returned from the 2026 World Championships of Performing Arts in Las Vegas as Gold…

ODJF Restores Mobility and Independence for Hanover University Student Following Hurricane Melissa

July 6, 2026

For 22-year-old university student Britannia Stephenson, Hurricane Melissa took much more than the roof over her family’s head. The hurricane devastated her household’s livelihood and rendered her wheelchair unusable, creating…

All Hands on Deck: The ODJF’s Response to Hurricane Melissa

December 1, 2025

When Hurricane Melissa made her presence known across Jamaica, she arrived, as disasters do, and she left behind what disasters always leave behind -destruction, displacement, and the urgent, aching need…

ODJF Donates $500,000 to PAH! Deaf Dance Company

April 4, 2025

PAH! Deaf Dance Company is poised to make history as the first-ever deaf dance company to represent Jamaica on the global stage at the prestigious World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in California! The Open Door Jamaica Foundation (ODJF)…

Opening Doors to Mobility: ODJF & Toyota Jamaica Give Back

February 14, 2025

At Open Door Jamaica Foundation (ODJF), we believe in breaking barriers and opening doors to accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Our recent wheelchair donation initiative stands as a testament to…

How 107 Machines Reached the Only School for the Blind

February 9, 2024

There is a question that does not get asked nearly enough in Jamaica: what does it mean to be educated if you cannot access the tools that make education possible?…

‘Redirection with Terri-Karelle’ Podcast leads with inclusion

December 6, 2023

Season 1 of the podcast was a success by all accounts but Terri-Karelle and her team went to work on how they could make this even more successful. Being an…

Terri-Karelle, Digicel Foundation join in Braille machine drive

October 5, 2023

In honour of Blind Awareness Month this October, Dr Terri-Karelle Reid, a media and communications practioner, is collaborating with the Digicel Foundation to launch a campaign aimed at enhancing the…

People with Disabilities can do it too: Disability ≠ Inability

March 11, 2022

Have you ever stopped to consider the lived experiences of a person with disability (PWD) in Jamaica? I think many of us are so engrossed in our own pursuit of…

Toyota Jamaica and Deaf Can! Coffee make magic.

December 23, 2019

When I think of a Jamaican company that truly embodies the meaning of being a good corporate social citizen, I think of Toyota Jamaica. They are one of the few…