MoBay’s math whiz gets help

Western Bureau:

Well-known Montego Bay-based mathematics expert, Richard James, who was the first educator to publicly offer his programmes free of cost via YouTube to help students displaced by the shutdown of schools owing to COVID-19, has been joined in his noble venture by New Fortress Energy Foundation (NFEF) and the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI).

In a media release, New Fortress Energy Foundation, a natural gas company renowned for its generosity, says it will be covering the monthly Internet costs for James’ Richard James Math Resource Programme to ensure that live online classes remain available to the displaced students, who have been logging on his channel in droves.

“Partnering with Richard was an easy decision because he’s genuinely passionate and proud to serve the students. It’s both encouraging and heart-warming. As we go through this global crisis, we recognise that we all have to play our part to help protect the future of our nation’s next generation and it’s initiatives like the Richard James Online Math Programme that will help us to do this,” said Verona Carter, vice president, Public Affairs, at New Fortress Energy.

With schools being closed and students at home, this is a great initiative that will ensure that students can continue to prepare for their upcoming exams,” added Carter.

Interactive classes

The assistance from New Fortress Energy Foundation, which is slated to start on April 20 and continues until the end of the school year in June, comes at an opportune time for James, who was being seriously challenged by the monthly cost of his Internet bill.

“My objective is to help cushion the shock in disruption of examination practice for students preparing for CAPE/CSEC exams while schools are closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. So while students can still access a wealth of math resources on the channel for free, the live online classes, as you can imagine, are interactive and allow students to get their questions answered in real-time in order to get a clearer understanding of a particular problem,” said James. “So, I’m extremely thankful to New Fortress Energy Foundation for reaching out to me and offering to pay the monthly Internet fees so that the live online classes can continue.”

In addition to the plans to pay James’ bill for the remainder of the school year, the organisations also paid off his outstanding bill for the month of March.

President of the MBCCI, Janet Silvera, said that the assistance package totalled $500,000, noting that the initiative was commendable and hence the endorsement by her organisation.

“We’ve partnered with New Fortress Energy through its Foundation on several activities over the years that are geared at improving the lives of our nation’s children, such as their back-to-school programme and we’re very happy to be endorsing this initiative,” said Silvera.

“There’s no doubt that students will need all the help they can get at this time to stay on track and we commend both NFEF and Richard James for helping in this way,” added Silvera.