Stand Up For Jamaica appeals for school supplies for inmates

Carla Gullotta, executive director of the human-rights non-governmental organisation Stand Up for Jamaica (SUFJ), is appealing for support in getting stationery and other school materials to assist inmates in the penal system.

Speaking to The Gleaner after receiving several food items from an initiative between Issa Trust Foundation, Cool Charities, and Royal Caribbean, Gullotta said she was happy for the donation of food supplies, but pointed to other needs, when pressed.

“I need materials such as stationery to start the school year,” Gullotta pointed out.

“I work in the prisons, and penal institutions have schools because we’re under rehabilitation, and rehabilitation’s key word is ‘education’. The online classes are challenging because we have to divide into small groups since we cannot share the books, and I am really worried about starting another school year without stationery, so if somebody could assist us with copybooks, pens, pencils, that would be great,” she added.

SUFJ’s main areas to assist persons in the penal system are education, achievement of a professional skill, and psychological help.

Stand Up For Jamaica promotes education with inmates by providing them with qualified teachers, who the SUFJ pays for; supplying books and laptops; while targeting persons from remedial to secondary-school levels.

Emphasis is placed on English and mathematics, but this might soon expand to include other subjects.

Responding to the donation of food items, Gullotta said persons in Kingston were already identified as beneficiaries.

“We are very happy to be here, we got a lot of stuff, we have 100 people between the homeless and ex-inmates waiting at my office,” Gullotta explained.

“It is a beautiful idea. Our office is in downtown Kingston and we see every day that there are more homeless and more desperados, and we know that the pandemic has been hitting hard. We are happy for this help. Let’s hope this will happen again,” she said.