U.S. BASED MISSION AND FOOD FOR THE POOR PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED LEWIS TOWN BASIC SCHOOL BUILDING

Kingston, Jamaica: February 20, 2014

Students and staff at the Lewis Town Basic School in Fyffes Pen, St Elizabeth are celebrating the gift of a long awaited new building structure, donated by the United States based Davitt/Ruppert Mission team with assistance from charity organization, Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica. Construction and painting of the building took place on the weekend of February 15.

The new building which is expected to accommodate up to 60 students should be ready for use by the end of March.

The school’s principal, Doreen Hylton had high praises for the work of the mission team even as she painted a vivid picture of the conditions under which students had to be taught over the last two decades. “The learning environment at our past location was not conducive to learning,” she said. “We encountered numerous challenges as the structure was made entirely of zinc and this made the children hot and restless.  We also had insufficient space and inadequate sanitation facilities and as a result many persons from the community were ashamed of the school. We have struggled in this environment for over 20 years so I cannot begin to express how elated I am for this new school building.”

“This is a dream come to reality!” Ms. Hylton exclaimed.

Her sentiments were echoed by Keith Miller, a past Chairman of the School’s Board, who explained, “Over the years, the administrators have experienced severe challenges as it relates to finding suitable space but then came Food For The Poor to the rescue. They have in essence written a cheque to Lewis Town which can never be cancelled.”

The Davitt/Ruppert Mission team comprising 25 donors, also constructed a house for a needy resident in the community on the same weekend.

Craig Ruppert, a representative of the donors, in his remarks during the handing over ceremony noted, “Back home, we have many material things but we are not as happy as you are here in Jamaica. That’s why coming to Lewis Town to be part of this project is good for us. We can never have too many schools, so congratulations on your new building and we are happy to work with Food For The Poor as usual.”

Since 2001, the team of Chris Davitt and Craig Ruppert, along with their families and friends have partnered with Food For The Poor to build four schools; 165 housing units; a home for the elderly; equipped a community with a sustainable fishing village project and installed two water projects.  Their efforts have improved the health and living conditions of many throughout Jamaica and Haiti.  Last year, the team of philanthropic individuals, expanded Knoxwood Basic School in St. Elizabeth by constructing additional classrooms to improve the school’s learning environment for students. 

                                  Ellerslie Pen, Spanish Town, St. Catherine | Tel.: (876) 984-5005 | www.foodforthepoorja.org

Contact: Ceila Morgan, PROComm, T: 926-6740 or 550-9330

Petri-Ann Henry, Food For The Poor, T:  984-5005 or 564-288

Early Stimulation Plus a Centre of Excellence

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Kingston, Jamaica - The Digicel Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS), assisted in raising the standard of care available to students in the Special Needs sector today with the unveiling of a new structure at the Early Stimulation Plus school (ESP). As part of its commitment to support the advancement of children with Special Needs, the Foundation erected eight temporary classrooms to house the students until a new structure is built by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Once the permanent structure is complete, this temporary building will be utilized as administrative offices and staff training rooms. Each of the classrooms has been fully outfitted with specialised equipment and furniture to meet the daily requirements of the students.

Ms. Judine Hunter, Programme Manager for Special Needs at Digicel Foundation, expressed her sincere joy at the partnership, saying, “One of our most fulfilling experiences  has been through this partnership with ESP. High quality early intervention is essential to the development of all children with Special Needs. We are truly grateful for this day.”  

The Early Stimulation Plus school is a component of the Early Stimulation Programme, which is managed by the Ministry of Labour & Social Security. Since its inception in 1975, the programme has benefited well over 20,000 children with various types of disabilities across the island.

The Honourable Derrick Kellier, Minister of Labour and Social Security, spoke to the benefits afforded through working together to achieve developments in the Special Needs sector, saying, “The completion of these classrooms is a true testimony of the increased productivity that can be achieved through public-private partnership. We thank the Foundation for their vision in investing in such a critical area of human development and providing an opportunity where we can achieve the mandate of an inclusive society as outlined in VISION 2030.”

The school currently serves a population of 120 students, most of who are from disadvantaged homes and enrolled in the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH).

Melissa Bell, the mother of a student with cerebral palsey enrolled at ESP, explained the impact that this initiative will have on her daughter’s overall development, saying,  “I can’t afford to have my daughter enrolled at the expensive facilities for her to receive high-quality care. So, I am beyond elated when I see Digicel Foundation putting in facilities that will allow her to receive the best care possible at a centre that we can afford. Now she will be able to achieve her maximum potential.”

Principal and Director of ESP, Mrs. Antonica Gunter Gayle, was overwhelmed with appreciation for the initiative by the Foundation. She noted that, “All of these children have potential and Digicel Foundation has afforded them the opportunity to realise this. This is a gift that will affect not only these children but their families and the lives of other Special Needs children who will come through these doors.”

The new facility at Early Stimulation Plus is only a small part of the much larger “Centres of Excellence Initiative” that aims to increase the capacity of Special Needs Schools in Jamaica through teacher training and equipment upgrades. As part of the Digicel Foundation’s 10^th Anniversary, this programme will be rolled out in 10 Special Needs facilities across the nation.

For more information visit our website at www.digiceljamaicafoundation.org

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/digiceljafoundation

Twitter:  (@digiceljafdn) https://twitter.com/DigicelJaFdn

OVER $19 BILLION WON WITH CASH POT, PICK 4, 3 &2

Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday January 28, 2014

 Last year Jamaican players won over $19 billion from playing the Cash Pot, Pick 4, Pick 3 and Pick 2 games.  Although our population is about 2.6 million, Jamaicans won nearly 8000 times more in 2013 from playing Cash Pot, Pick 4, Pick 3 & Pick 2 games. 

These games are played by many fun-loving Jamaicans as it adds a bit of entertainment to any ordinary run-of-the-mill day.  Some persons play just for the fun of it while others use these winnings to pay outstanding debts or buy some extra groceries.

“When I win I go to the grocery and get more food in the house,” said delivery man, Carey Richard.

However one decides to use the winnings earned, people often agree that the money comes in handy and sometimes comes right in time for a special occasion. This is exactly what happened to office attendant, Venice Malcolm.

“I won some money right before my birthday! I took it and bought a nice whatnot to set  the TV on.” “Up to last week I walked away winning money and I was able to buy a fan for my house. Whatever I want for the house, if is a pot or anything like that, I use the money I win and buy it,” said office attendant, Venice.

When asked what her secret to winning was she said, “I play Cash Pot, Pick 3, and Pick 4 all the while, all 4 times for the day.”

“For such a reasonable amount of $10, what players can gain is truly amazing!” remarked Sonia Davidson, Supreme Ventures’ Vice President for Group Corporate Communications. “I’ve heard people tell our cashiers how the silver lining to their day was looking forward to playing many of our games all through the day. They use the opportunity not only as a means of entertainment but as a way of making ends meet. And the figures say it all, our players won over $19 billion playing Cash Pot, Pick 2, Pick 3 and Pick 4. That is not petty cash.”

DIGICEL FOUNDATION, USAID, MOE LAUNCH 2014 ENRICHMENT PROGRAMME

Kingston, Jamaica – Thursday, January 30, 2014

LEARNING IS FUN: Evadne Cowell, Digicel Foundation Training Specialist, assists this youngster to fine tune his reading skills. Occasion was the 2014 Commencement of the Enrichment Programme at Davis Primary School in St. Catherine. At the event it was announced that 31 schools will be receiving Enrichment Centres and Mobile Carts to assist students in grades one to three better prepare for the Grade Four Literacy Test. This expansion has been made possible with the assistance of USAID through a partnership valued at more than US$3.7 million. Over a three year period, the Enrichment Programme will be active within an additional 95 schools, bringing the total number of schools impacted by the Enrichment initiative to nearly 200 schools island-wide.  The Enrichment Programme was initially launched by the Digicel Foundation and the Ministry of Education in 2009.

Tenth Anniversary celebrations are in high gear as the Digicel Foundation teams up with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Education to announce the start of the 2014 Enrichment Programme.

This year, thirty one schools will be receiving Enrichment Centres and Mobile Carts to assist students in grades one to three better prepare for the Grade Four Literacy Test. This expansion has been made possible with the assistance of USAID through a partnership valued at more than US$3.7 million. Over a three year period, the Enrichment Programme will be active within an additional 95 schools, bringing the total number of schools impacted by the Enrichment initiative to nearly 200 schools island-wide.

“USAID has a robust partnership legacy in Jamaica, but there is still more work that needs to be done in order to seize the full potential and impact that can result from these partnerships.  No single Government can be the sole solution to the myriad of challenges in a country,” noted Denise Herbol, Mission Director at USAID.  “Here in Jamaica, the Ministry of Education and companies like Digicel are working together to achieve established literacy objectives. Literacy is the stepping stone that enables people to gain access to information, to improve their health and nutrition, widen their livelihood options and make informed choices.  When we invest in learning and literacy, we invest in human dignity, development and peace,” she added.

Samantha Chantrelle, CEO of the Digicel Foundation, also expressed her appreciation for the partnership with both USAID and the Ministry of Education, “We are delighted that USAID has partnered with the Digicel Foundation on this very important initiative and we thank the Ministry of Education for continuing to support our efforts since 2009.”

Mrs. Chantrelle continued, “It is truly through collaboration that we can strive to get more done as a country. The Digicel Foundation remains committed to doing our part in assisting our nation to meet the UN Millennium Development Goal of achieving 100% literacy by 2015. This is a very special year for us at the Foundation as we commemorate 10 years of inspirational team work with extraordinary Jamaicans and organisations. We are actively working to make 2014 a memorable year as we continue our year long celebration with our life-changing partners.”

The official announcement for all thirty-one schools took place at Davis Primary School in St. Catherine on January 29. Renovations at Davis Primary began last year with all equipment and furnishings for the Enrichment Centre installed within the last two months. The room is now fully equipped with new desks, chairs, a filing cabinet, interactive whiteboards, a television set, DVD and MP3 players, a laminating machine and a wide range of interactive teaching resources and software. This school was also the deserving recipient of a Mobile Library Cart, containing more than 200 books to provide children with supplemental reading material. The Mobile Library Cart Programme is a joint initiative of the Digicel Foundation and The Spanish—Jamaican Foundation. More than 700 students at Davis Primary are expected to benefit from this recent intervention.

“When we look at the classroom that Digicel has set up, all of our teachers view it as the ideal classroom, with everything at your finger tips,” said Principal Sharon Campbell-Danvers. “Our literacy and numeracy rates have declined according to the National Education Inspectorate, but I expect that through the use of technology and having the programme target grades one to three, we will be able to see significant improvement, especially since children gravitate towards technology, which will in turn propel growth.”

The Enrichment Programme focuses on identifying those students who have fallen behind in school and are below their grade level in reading.  Some of the children are considered pre-primers, meaning that they are unable to identify letters of the alphabet, prior to being enrolled in the programme.  The successes to date have shown an average two-grade level increase in reading attributed to the Enrichment Programme intervention.  

 

FUN WITH COMPUTERS: These St. Davis Primary students try out the computers in their school's new Enrichment Centre.   Occasion was the 2014 Commencement of the Enrichment Programme at the St. Catherine based school. At the event it was announced that 31 schools will be receiving Enrichment Centres and Mobile Carts to assist students in grades one to three better prepare for the Grade Four Literacy Test. This expansion has been made possible with the assistance of USAID through a partnership valued at more than US$3.7 million. Over a three year period, the Enrichment Programme will be active within an additional 95 schools, bringing the total number of schools impacted by the Enrichment initiative to nearly 200 schools island-wide.  The Enrichment Programme was initially launched by the Digicel Foundation and the Ministry of Education in 2009.

DIGICEL FOUNDATION PARTNERING TO SUPPORT THE SPECIAL NEEDS COMMUNITY

Kingston, Jamaica – Tuesday February 4, 2014

 

ALL SMILES AT EARLY STIMULATION PLUS: Judine Hunter (right), Programme Manager for Special Needs, hands over a commemorative collage of photos from the 2013 Digicel Foundation 5K Night Run/Walk to Antonica Gunter-Gayle, Principal of Early Stimulation Plus. Looking on is Belinda Brown (centre), Project Manager for the Social and Economic Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Also sharing in the moment are students and teachers of the school. The Digicel Foundation hit the road on January 30 with sponsors of the 5K Run/Walk to disburse the proceeds of last year’s event.  Last October, over 7,000 persons came out to ‘shine their light’ for members of the Special Needs community at the second staging of the event. Eleven Special Needs schools and associations are the recipients of the proceeds totaling $7.4 million.

The Digicel Foundation hit the road on Thursday, January 30 with sponsors of the 5K Run/Walk to disburse the proceeds of last year’s event.  Last October, over 7,000 persons came out to ‘shine their light’ for members of the Special Needs community at the second staging of the event.

Eleven Special Needs schools and associations will be the recipients of the proceeds totalling $7.4 million. These are:  Early Stimulation Plus, Genesis Academy, the STEP Centre, Mustard Seed Communities, Liberty Academy, the Jamaica Association on Intellectual Disabilities, Jamaica Autism Support Association, Jamaica Association for the Blind, Jamaica Association for the Deaf, NAZ Children’s Centre, and the Jamaica Downs Syndrome Foundation (JDSF).

In the days leading up to last year’s 5K, CVM TV documented and aired the great work that many of these Special Needs schools and organisations are engaged in. Natalie Peterson, Marketing Manager at CVM TV expressed her delight at having partnered with the Digicel Foundation to further support the Special Needs community. “We view our partnership with the Digicel Foundation on this worthy cause, from our on-air promotion of the event to the sharing of our tent with the Jamaica Association on Intellectual Disabilities at the actual event, as our duty.  In the words of Digicel Ambassador, Tifa: ‘The Special Needs community are us and we are them’ – we at CVM TV are honoured to take a stand for them.”

Island Grill provided meals for Digicel’s staff volunteers and adopted members of Jacobs’s Ladder team on the night of the 5K, sharing their tent for the Run/Walk. Marketing Assistant at Island Grill, Corve DaCosta, noted that his company felt extremely proud to be a part of the Digicel Foundation 5K Night Run Walk and pledged its continued support. “We will continue to support and lift up those who demonstrate the continuous improvement of those living with Special Needs and other vulnerable Jamaicans. As a corporate citizen, we have the responsibility to support the next generation and that includes all Jamaicans including those with Special Needs. Kudos to Mustard Seed Communities and the excellent work they do."

This year is Digicel Foundation’s 10^th Anniversary and the team is in high gear preparing for the 2014 Digicel Foundation 5K Night Run/Walk with the hope of garnering even more support than last year.

“Last year’s event was a wonderful success and we could not have done it without the dedication of our valued partners and the support we received from over 7,000 members of the public,” said Judine Hunter, Special Needs Programme Manager at the Digicel Foundation. “It is because of our partners and the event’s supporters that we have this funding to disburse to eleven Special Needs schools and organisations. It is so heart-warming to see a underserved community receiving this amount of recognition and support.”

Other partners include:  Irie Fm, KLAS FM, JP Tropical Foods Ltd, Peak Bottling Company Ltd, Rainforest Seafoods, Sportsmax, Guardsman, Virginia Dare, Express Fitness, RJR Communications Group, Island Grill, CVM, JTB, J Wray & Nephew, UDC, KSAC, CPJ, Tru Juice and  Jamaica Producers.

In celebration of its 10^th Anniversary, the Digicel Foundation is seeking to garner even greater support for the 5K Run/ Walk for Special Needs this year noted Samantha Chantrelle, saying, “2014 is a year of renewed hope and vigour. This year we celebrate 10 years of existence, we have so many plans to make 2014 an even more memorable year and we ask members of the public to join and support us as we work towards improving the lives of persons living with Special Needs.”

NICE BOOST FOR JASA: Judine Hunter (right), Programme Manager for Special Needs at the Digicel Foundation presents Kathy Chang (left), Co Founder of the Jamaica Autism Support Association with a cheque from the proceeds of the 2013 Digicel Foundation 5K Night Run/Walk. Sharing in the moment is Roger Lyn, Marketing Manager at Rainforest Seafood. The Digicel Foundation hit the road on January 30 with sponsors of the 5K Run/Walk to disburse the proceeds of last year’s event.  Last October, over 7,000 persons came out to ‘shine their light’ for members of the Special Needs community at the second staging of the event. Eleven Special Needs schools and associations are the recipients of the proceeds totaling $7.4 million.

Bustamante Museum Benefit Performance The Golden Macca Fat

February 24th, 2014, will be the 130th Anniversary of the birth of Sir Alexander Bustamante, making the occasion an opportunity to celebrate the life and work of our National Hero.  According to various sources Sir Alexander Bustamante was fond of children and so he would give sweets and money to the little ones he met throughout Jamaica.  The Bustamante Museum has appropriately 

partnered with the Little Theatre for a Benefit Performance of the 2013/2014 

Pantomime – The Golden Macca Fat.  The family show is slated for February 15^th, the Saturday after Valentine’s Day at 7:00 pm at the Little Theatre, with a contribution of $1500 per ticket. 

‘Macca Fat alluding to the oil from the tree and the fruit.’  This thorny palm tree grows here in Jamaica.  The plot of the pantomime is centred on the people of Macca Fat Mountain.  Award-winning journalist, Barbara Gloudon wrote this year’s script.  The cast is composed of almost 20 members, and includes actors and actresses, Faith Bucknor, Ray Jarrett, Kevin Halstead, and Sharon Edwards.  The production is under the direction of Pierre LeMaire.

Tickets for the Benefit Performance of the National Pantomime are available at the Little Theatre and the Bustamante Museum (2 ½ Goodwill Avenue, 946-2666).  The Bustamante Museum is a Jamaica National Heritage Trust site and was previously the home of Sir Alexander Bustamante before he relocated to Jamaica House.  The museum opened in 2009.  Presently the building houses a historical exhibition and is open to the public.  After touring the museum a visitor stated that it was a “fantastic collection of History.” 

 

Contact:

Nora Strudwick

Bustamante Museum

bustamantemuseum@cwjamaica.com

946-2666