2009-07-31
No Substitute for Hard Work and Discipline
Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce, Karl Samuda has underlined the importance of hard work, focus and discipline in shaping the character and future of children, particularly those who were born and raised in less than ideal circumstances.
The Minister was delivering the closing address to teenagers who attended the ‘Make Your Mark’ Summer Camp, at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on Thursday, July 30th. He urged the teenagers to assess for themselves their life’s objective, and apply themselves to achieve it in a diligent determined fashion.
The Minister berated the ‘get rich quick’ mentality among many, and asserted that success meant nothing unless it “came through hard work, and a determination to maintain good order and lay a solid foundation that will sustain generations to come.”
Sharing vignettes from his own childhood experiences, the Investment and Commerce Minister described education as the ‘great liberator’, and experience as the ‘great teacher.’ “Experience teaches what books can’t,” he said, “so don’t worry about where you are, just focus on where you want to be – that is what is important,” Mr. Samuda told the campers.
The “Make Your Mark” summer camp which ran from July 6 – 30, exposed the teenagers to training in business networking, money-management skills, religion, and was designed to empower them with life skills and prepare them for leadership. In commending the camp organizers, Minister Samuda said it was an excellent concept which would be replicated across Jamaica.