Citizen association gives back to Catadupa

Students of the Catadupa Primary and Junior High School in rural St James are now able to attend online classes, and have easier access to information on the Internet, because of the kindness of the Citizens and Friends of Catadupa Association Inc (CFCA).

The association, which comprises persons who grew up in Catadupa and live overseas, as well as residents who still live in the area, donated 76 tablets to the school on December 28, 2020.

Member of Parliament for Southern St James Homer Davis assisted with the tablet handover to the school’s principal, Marcia Trought-Gordon. Executive members of the association, Winsome Brown and Millicent Drummond, made the presentation on behalf of the association.

Chairman of the CFCA, Trevor Roache, said based on the report by the Ministry of Education to e-learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the association felt the need to assist because several of the students were not able to access their lessons online, as they had no computers or other equipment to participate in online learning.

“We saw the need and quickly organised and rose to the occasion to supply the tablets,” Roache stated. “Since then, we have basically adopted the school and have completed four additional projects and are currently working on two others,” he continued.

He said the CFCA has adopted the school through the National Education Trust as of January 2021, which means they will be providing support to the school in various ways.

SCHOOL ASSESSMENT

“The National Education Trust, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, went to the school and assessed what the school needed and how the association could assist. So far, we have renovated the kitchen, the staffroom, the library, installed water tanks and donated the tablets and two incubators to support the school’s agricultural programme, which will be used to support the school’s lunch programme. Eventually, the school’s chicken-rearing project will become an economic enterprise” Roache said.

“We have spent approximately $1.4 million so far since December 2020. Our next big project is the renovation of the Catadupa Market House to be used as a public library, converting it to a modern, state-of-the-art library for the use of the community, which has been without a public library for several years.

“In addition to a library, the building will house an Internet café, a reading room, a conference centre, a meeting room, and a craft centre which currently operates at the facility. The aim is to have the building as a hub, generating and supporting community activities,” Roache stated, adding that they plan to show films and host other educational and cultural events at the venue.

Trought-Gordon thanked the CFCA profusely and said the pandemic forced the school to move teaching and other learning activities from the classroom to online at extremely short notice.

This was the first donation of its kind to the school by the CFCA, which was incorporated in December 2020. The CFCA Inc is a non-profit organisation established by citizens from the community who believe in giving back to their community. The organisation is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with membership throughout the United States of America, Canada, England, Jamaica, and other parts of the world. Plans to create a Jamaican chapter are well advanced, and should be officially launched before the end of this year.

Roache said the combined efforts of both chapters of dedicated individuals will increase outreach and philanthropic efforts, as well as the effectiveness of the group overall.

Members of the association also contribute to a weekly feeding programme in the community for the elderly and other persons in need of food.