Rural primary schools in Clarendon, Trelawny grateful for Labour Day sprucing up
Published:Thursday | May 25, 2023 | 1:26 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Local primary school principals in Clark’s Town, Trelawny, and Lionel Town, Clarendon, have expressed their gratitude for the sprucing-up activities carried out at the educational institutions by the National Rums of Jamaica (NRJ) on Tuesday as part of its Labour Day activities.
In an effort to give back to the communities where its factories are located, the NRJ executed two beautification projects, one at the St Margaret Mary Basic and Preparatory School and the other at Clark’s Town Primary School.
Speaking with The Gleaner on Wednesday, David Taylor, principal of Clark’s Town Primary, said the school has had a long-standing relationship with NRJ, which has provided assistance spanning many years, aimed at preserving the institution, which was founded by the Anglican Church in 1832, in its appearance and functionality.
In addition to thoroughly cleaning classrooms, creating new gardens and improving existing ones, he said the group painted, and donated building supplies to repair broken cabinets, household chemicals and toiletry products to the school.
“They (the students) are happy, you know, and quite a few of them, especially from the upper school. They were there Tuesday participating in what was happening, and they got to talk to persons from the distillery and so on. So, it was like a career day interaction for them,” he said.
He added that when school resumes today, he is anticipating that the students will have a warm reaction to the beautification works done.
But Taylor said more needed to be done on the government side, as the school continues to suffer from deteriorating infrastructure.
“We have a mammoth task. The building is as old as the community is, and we really need a new school,” he added, regarding the challenges faced by the institution, noting that “the shelf life” of the institution was quickly expiring.
He said he wished for the collaboration between the institution and NRJ to continue and for the planting of more than 200 new fruits and vegetables seedlings for the school’s farm, in line with this year’s Labour Day theme, ‘Plant a Tree for Life – Promoting Climate Change Mitigation, Food Security and Road Safety’.
The installation of barriers around the garden and other areas where flowers were planted by NRJ, according to Andrea Cooke, principal of the St Margaret Mary Basic and Preparatory School, was a necessity because the school had trouble keeping the plants from being damaged when kids were at play and goats escaped onto the premises.
She added that a few numerical signs were painted on the compound, such as the playground game hopscotch, which was painted along a corridor.
“When they (the students) come out tomorrow (today), they are going to say ‘wow!” she said, adding that the school’s administration was deeply appreciative of the efforts made by the NRJ team.
The NRJ Foundation, expected to launch sometime in 2023, was established as a means to advance community development through education, healthcare, and infrastructural development.
“We believe that by investing in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, we can help to create a better future for all Jamaicans. The foundation is our way of making a meaningful contribution to the development of our communities and the nation as a whole,” said Joseph Robinson, head of human resource and administration at NRJ.