Guardian cools Siloah Primary with industrial ceiling fans
Published:Thursday | June 22, 2023 | 1:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU
WITH TEMPERATURES sometimes 32 degrees Celsius, the Siloah Civic Organisation and the Guardian Life Foundation donated 40 industrial ceiling fans to the Siloah Primary School in St Elizabeth to help keep the pupils and instructors cool.
During a short ceremony conducted at the school on Tuesday, the Guardian Life Foundation formally gave the fans to the school’s administration and students.
Locksley Stewart, a senior life adviser at Guardian Life Foundation, said that after hearing about the discomfort students and teachers were having in the heat, he decided to work with the Siloah Civic Group to assist the school.
Stewart remarked that the company donated 15 industrial fans to the school after being asked to help out by the Grey family through the Siloah Civic Organisation.
“The youngsters of today are the future of our country,” he said, “thus the company was more than committed to aiding them as part of our social responsibilities as a business.
“We have now forged a relationship with this community group, and we’re working on helping them and other students,” said Stewart.
Children had to bear heat
For the past 30 years, Michael Grey, vice-president of the Siloah Civic Organisation, says he has been working to ensure that kids have the resources they need to succeed.
“I came here one summer and observed that the teachers each had one fan by their desks and the children had to bear the heat,” Grey explained their reason for donating fans to the school.
He said the community-based civic organisation had contributed 25 fans earlier this year through the Siloah Civic Association, but they had to reach out to Guardian Life for help because they were still short.
He mentioned a crowdfunding campaign and the annual Heroes’ Day ‘Bring Back the Love’ fundraiser as sources of funding for the ceiling fan project, noting that the money earned is utilised to defray or completely cover expenses for other community projects.
The school’s principal, O’Neil Larmond, said he is pleased that the school’s classrooms, staff area, and library. All now have sufficient ceiling fans to create a more comfortable and productive learning environment.
“The temperature here in Siloah is extremely hot, sometimes up to 32 degrees Celsius,” he said. “So there was the need to have fans in our classrooms.
“If the students are not working in a comfortable environment, they will be distracted, which will negatively affect their learning. Therefore, this contribution will enhance the teaching and learning and make the environment more relaxing,” said Larmond.