Youth parliamentarians donate hundreds of books to rural schools
Published:Sunday | October 25, 2020 | 12:19 AM
Last week, the National Youth Parliament Surrey County successfully donated over 1,350 books to schools across Portland and St Thomas. Organised by county coordinator, David Salmon, and his deputy, Nahjae Nunes, this project represented a collective effort to provide support to students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Schools receiving donations included Port Antonio High, Robert Lightbourne High, Yallahs High, Seaforth High and St Thomas Technical High.
Nunes said that, “We received tremendous support from our partners, including the Caribbean Maritime University who assisted us in undertaking the mammoth task of transporting 1,200 books simultaneously.”
“The success of this book drive shows Jamaica that we, as diligent young people, are playing an active role in supporting each other during this difficult time. Our objective is to remember those who are sometimes forgotten and thus, we focused on rural institutions, as these schools are directly impacted by the lack of face-to-face classes,” Salmon shared.
“This week we donated over 650 math books, 100 information technology textbooks, as well as books for other subjects, including the foreign languages, business, novels and even a full encyclopaedia set. I must thank Morant Bay youth mayor, Damor McQueen, the Jamaica College family, and Joan Brown and her team from St Andrew High School for Girls for their support in donating books for this project.”
Assisting with the undertaking were fellow youth parliamentarians and volunteers from the New Jamaica Foundation.
Volunteer DeAnte Livingston said, “For me, the project was very uplifting as we saw how very grateful schools were to see that someone would have taken the initiative to give such a thoughtful donation.”
Norman Rose, sixth-form coordinator at Seaforth High School, echoed this assessment when he said, “It is a very good initiative, as especially during these times books would cost so much as they are so expensive. Where we are falling short is in mathematics, so receiving as much resources as we can in that area is very good. The fact that the youth parliament has gone all out to contribute to so many schools is a testimony that is great. We need more initiatives like this, especially for literacy books and other subjects for CAPE.”
If you are interested in donating books or other school supplies, email the New Jamaica Foundation at newjamaicafoundation@gmail.com.