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Long Hill, Westmoreland – September
25, 2012:
Food For The Poor (FFP) today officially
opened the Kings Infant School, formerly known as the Long Hill Basic School,
in Long Hill, Westmoreland. It is the first early childhood institution to be
built for the parish of Westmoreland and the county of Cornwall under the FFP
Jamaica 50 Campaign, which seeks to build and or upgrade 50 early childhood institutions
within 50 months.
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This Food For
The Poor Programme is celebrating Jamaica’s 50th year of
independence, by expanding access to high quality pre-primary facilities for
the nation’s youth. The Kings Infant School will serve the communities of
Long Hill, Whitehouse, Red Gate and
Petersville. It boasts three classrooms, a sickbay, an office for the
teachers, a kitchen, and bathrooms.
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Over the
years, the Long Hill Basic School was housed in several temporary facilities in
the community. For the past 4 years, it was housed in cramped conditions in a
section of the Grade 1 classroom at Kings Primary School. Subsequently, the St. Thomas King’s Anglican Church Diocese of Jamaica donated the
land for the construction of the school by FFP. This latest development has
also led to the renaming of the school, and FFP will also be making advanced
training available to the teachers at that institution, in keeping with
standards set by the Early Childhood Commission (ECC).
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Delivering remarks at the Opening Ceremony, Samantha Mahfood, Executive
Director, Food For The Poor Canada expressed appreciation to the Anglican Church and the ‘Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation’ for their
donations, which made the school a reality. “Helping Hands Jamaica
Foundation, the Canadian-Jamaican donors, financed the construction and
furnishing of the school. We commend our local and international donors of the FFP
Jamaica 50 Campaign. Without our donor’s financial support we cannot change
a child’s future,” explained the FFP Canada Executive Director, adding, “Today
I ask each of you to get involved by donating to the construction of a school.”
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She urged citizens to create a solid foundation of love, care and
discipline in the lives of Jamaica’s children. “Be committed to opening the
‘doors’ and ‘windows’ of learning with academic studies, and vocational
training,” advised Ms. Mahfood. “Let us give them a sound ‘infrastructure’ of
skills and the encouragement they need to be successful.”
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Ms. Mahfood announced that
next month her charity would be opening a new Basic School in Esher, Hanover.
She disclosed that FFP is also partnering with several communities in the
county of Cornwall, to assist with the construction of early childhood
institutions.
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Dita Scott
Myers, Principal, Kings Infant School, expressed appreciation to FFP for the
construction of the new facility. “We are all overjoyed for this new school.
This institution will go a long way in helping the community’s children to
learn in comfort, and with the spacious classrooms we can now accommodate more
children.” The school has a population of 31 students but it has the capacity
to accommodate 60.
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Keynote speaker Shannon Hendricks, Legal/Policy Officer, Office of the
Children’s Advocate, encouraged communities to “guarantee our children
child-friendly, child-centred institutions which encourage them to learn in a
creative environment”. She implored teachers to be faithful and diligent in
their duties, despite the socio-economic difficulties facing them.
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Describing the establishment of Kings Infant School as a “life-altering
initiative, which creates the perfect preparatory environment”, she stressed
that the teachers should aspire to be great, as great teachers inspire students
to achieve their best. Children need good parenting as well as excellent
teaching to attain their best potential, she added.
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Dr. Mark Nicely, President Elect, Jamaica Teachers
Association (JTA), shared similar sentiments, while addressing today’s event.
He cautioned that the problems being experienced at the secondary and tertiary
levels started at the early childhood stage of the children’s lives. Pointing out that it is “easier to build a
strong child, than to repair a broken man,” Mr. Nicely stressed the importance
of significant investments in education, if Jamaica is to realize its 2030
vision. He commended the educational initiatives of Food For The Poor which saw
them partnering with communities, and appealed for other civic groups to forge
similar partnerships in education.
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Other speakers at today’s event were: Paulette
Patterson, Principal, Kings Primary School and Megan McHugh, Beneficiary, FFP
Educational Programme. The children of Kings Infant School and Kings Primary
School provided entertainment.
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The FFP Jamaica 50 Campaign is a part of
the ongoing support by the charity to address the socio-economic challenges in
Jamaica. Since its inception 30 years ago, FFP has made a significant
contribution to Jamaica’s education through the payment of school fees to needy
students, distribution of school furniture and supplies, and the construction
of basic schools. Earlier this year, FFP outfitted 18 educational institutions
with well-needed school furniture. These
schools were recommended by the Ministry of Education and included: Mico
University College, York Castle High, Green Park Primary, Manchester High and
Kingston College.
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