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SPANISH TOWN, St. Catherine (March 24, 2010):    There’s an old adage that says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This vested interest in the life of the child is not only a resolve in the mind but a call to action for all parties involved.  With the help of Westmoreland businessman, Robin Farquharson, the Westmoreland Basic School Support (A Canadian-based charity) and the Bank of Nova Scotia Foundation, Food For The Poor Canada and Jamaica willingly answered this call by constructing a modern, well equipped basic school in Retreat, Westmoreland.

Formerly known as Retreat Basic School, the newly-constructed Farquharson Early Childhood Institute includes a bathroom, kitchen, an office and adequate classroom space.

“This is a significant milestone achievement for us as a school and community as the school celebrates thirty-eight years of existence.  I am filled with much joy and pride to be able to witness this momentous occasion,” stated an elated principal, Ms. Valerie Lawrence, while speaking at the official handing over ceremony of the new school building on March 18, 2010.

According to Ms. Lawrence, her problems started when the school was relocated to the Allen Rae Oval Community Centre in 1994.  Here, the school was temporarily housed in a cricket pavilion that was often times rented for cricket matches and parties.  As a result, teaching aids and furniture had to be packed away for weekends and remounted on Monday mornings. 

“The situation proved quite inconvenient for teachers and students and the school became at risk for closure by the Early Childhood Commission.  We sought assistance from various individuals and organizations but no one responded until Food For The Poor, Westmoreland Basic School Support (WBSS), the Farquharson family and BNS Foundation came to our rescue.  Thanks to these persons we will no longer face these challenges because we now have a bigger, better building,” Ms. Lawrence said.

Six of FFP’s housing units were erected for the classroom, office and a kitchen, which is equipped with a gas stove, wash sink, cupboards and a refrigerator.  The attached bathroom facility consists of three toilets and a wash basin.

“There are 12 standards of the Early Childhood Commission and this school building was constructed in order to meet as many of these standards as possible,” stated Director of Projects at FFP, Mr. Gene Shaw.  “I am sure that the school population will drastically increase with the provision of this new building.”   

The land was donated by businessman, Robin Farquharson, (in memory of his parents Peter and Joy Farquharson who lived and worked in the Retreat area for many years) who said that he was saving his property for something other than a school such as a supermarket, a shopping mall, a small manufacturing enterprise or even a service station. 

When Mrs. Lawrence made the suggestion to him to donate the land for a school, Mr. Farquharson said “It did no take long for me to realize that this land should be the location for the new school building and so permission was granted.  I am very happy to have been a part of the creation of this new school and to have helped to turn this long-awaited dream into reality.”

Westmoreland Basic School Support (WBSS), who were the main sponsors of the project, is a non-profit Canadian group of over 500 volunteers with family ties to Westmoreland.  Their aim is to improve the quality of Early Childhood Education in Westmoreland through practical assistance. 

When the needs of Retreat Basic became known, the group undertook several fundraising events and “at times we thought that we took on more than we could manage because of the length of time it took to garner the funds, which is about three years,” noted group member and employee of BNS Canada, Ms. Denise Parkins.  “We are immensely thrilled to help to provide this facility as we seek to improve the quality of the educational experience for our children.”

The bank of Nova Scotia Foundation was also integrally involved in the project from inception and officially presented the school with a cheque worth J$250, 000 to provide proper fencing at the school, another requirement of the Early Childhood Commission.

“Scotia Bank is pleased to contribute to this project not just financially but also to enhance the social aspects of the community of Retreat.  This forms part of our corporate social responsibility,” said Branch Manager for BNS Savanna-la-Mar, Mr. Caswell Dawes, during the official handing over ceremony.

While this is the first local project for FFP Canada since its official establishment in 2008, Food For The Poor Jamaica has consistently contributed to Early Childhood Development over the years.  This includes the construction of school buildings, construction of additional classroom space, building bathrooms, supplying and installing electrical wiring and accessories and the provision of school furniture and educational supplies.

Since 2006, Food For The Poor Jamaica has constructed 25 basic schools Islandwide and provided proper bathroom facilities in 41 schools since 2006.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organisation in Jamaica, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programmes that help the poor.  For more information, please visit http://www.foodforthepoorja.com.

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CONTACT: Petri-Ann Henry

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