Trevor Henry came up with the novel idea to make a web page where Jamaicans at home and abroad could record the deaths of their loved ones online. - Contributed

When Trevor Henry moved to England in 1982, he knew that he always wanted to give back to the place where he had grown up.

As such, the webmaster who grew up in Kingston 13, came up with the novel idea to make a web page, www.memorialja.com, where Jamaicans at home and abroad could record the deaths of their loved ones online.

These records, which include words, pictures and videos, would last forever and would mean that anyone in the world could view the memory of those they loved with a few clicks of a button.

Henry coupled this idea with anyone who visits the page being able to contribute to a charity, which he says would benefit primary schools in the island.

The idea, Henry said, came to him when he was attending the funeral of a friend in the island two years ago.

getting started

"A friend of mine died and I wrote a web page for him, and when I was in Jamaica a lot of people asked me if I could write for their aunts and cousins, and as a result, 'memorialja' started," he said.

Since the website started, Henry said that more than 100 persons have been remembered on the site. These individuals come from Jamaica, the United States of America, Canada and England. Henry told The Gleaner that his website received at least 20,000 hits per day.

Henry, who visits the island every year, is concerned about the direction the country is going in and believes that education is one of the means of fighting poverty and crime.

"Any money which we raise on the website, we will donate it to schools in Jamaica to break the cycle of the gun, as education is the key," Henry said.

The site has been endorsed by Burchell Whiteman, the outgoing high commissioner to London. In a 30-second clip on the website, Whiteman commended the work of the site.

"It is not only a vehicle which provides a service to people in times of need, but it is also a developmental tool, first to recall the lives of Jamaicans in our history - the greats who have come and lived and made their contribution and who have passed on. Also (I commend it) because I know there is a supplementary intention to support a school or schools in Jamaica," Whiteman said.

mark.beckford@gleanerjm.com