Patrick Lafayette is a blind individual who has made significant contributions to improving the lives of persons with disabilities in Jamaica, the Caribbean, the United States and internationally.
He was the first visually disabled individual to be employed to a major commercial radio entity in Jamaica in the 1980’s when he worked with Radio Jamaica’s Fame FM. He further cemented his reputation as a household name by being a founding member of KLAS FM and later Kool 97 FM in 2001, where he served as prime-time presenter and producer. He went on to become station manager at Kool 97 FM before leaving to start his own production company, Twin Audio Network in 2007. This company is the parent company for www.chrismixradio.com – which Lafayette founded with several other like-minded colleagues.
A lover of technology, he has set a trend for sharing knowledge to empower the disabled community.
In 1988, he was introduced to the screen reading text to speech software Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and after mastering the technology, he brought his knowledge back to Jamaica from the US and began a series of teaching and free instructions to many blind persons who are today, experts themselves.
Later on, he did the same for the Mobile speak technology which allows blind persons to use cell phones and access all the noted features such as: caller id, text messaging, emailing and surfing the net. Currently he works with persons with disabilities in Jamaica and the US re the use of the I-phone and other adaptive technologies and was featured by Apple – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whioDJ8doYA in 2017. In August 2018, he hosted an interactive session on podcasting at Apple’s Soho office in Manhattan, New York.
He has taken his knowledge of computer software and hardware and applied it to teaching persons with disabilities. Initially he taught at the Jamaica Society for the blind, and eventually at the Abilities Foundation for two years.
He has worked along with the Public Broadcast Service “PBS” to establish a pilot television magazine news programme for the disabled.
In 2005 he became the representative for the Torres Foundation (operating from Washington and Trinidad and Tobago) in Jamaica. Under that portfolio he worked with the Salvation Army School for the Blind, to give the opportunity to the top yearly student to attend a two-week Accessible Technology summer camp in Trinidad and Tobago sponsored by the Foundation.
He has served as a Board Member for The Abilities Foundation, The Combined Disabilities Association CDA, and has represented the disabled as a member of the Broadcast Commission Digital Transfer Steering Committee. He has also served in the role of Chairman of the Public Education Committee for Broadcast Commission. He has worked alongside the Core Curriculum Unit of the Ministry of Education to produce audio visual training and learning tools. Lafayette has collaborated with foreign and local organisations, including the Dennis Brown Trust, VP Records, the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC, Choice FM in London, and XM Satellite Radio in the USA, to document and produce the history of Jamaica’s music culture.
