US-based Espoir Foundation to launch after-school Rose Town programme
Published:Wednesday | November 29, 2023 | 12:08 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
New York-based Espoir Foundation, which runs a number of after-school projects in the United States (US) as well as several other countries, including Haiti, is to launch an after school programme in Rose Town, St Andrew, in conjunction with the Rose Town Foundation.
Under the proposed programme, Espoir will fund the after-school project, including the hiring of three teachers in the initial phase of the programme. Initially, some 20 middle school students will be enrolled in the after-school programme
Espoir Foundation began its after-school project in 2014 in a Westbury High School in Long Island, New York, which has now expanded to several other schools and countries outside the US.
Aims to ‘nurture learning’
The after-school programme provides tutoring services to the community for those in need of assistance. The mission of the foundation is to “nurture learning in an exciting environment where promising new child development practices are being introduced”.
The Rose Town after-school project will be held in the newly constructed Rose Town Community Centre. The centre was developed by the Rose Town Foundation.
The Rose Town Foundation was established in 2010 to assist in creating opportunities for residents of Rose Town to improve the quality of their lives through active participation in development programmes that enhance their built environment, socio-economic status and community health.
The titular head of the Rose Town Foundation is King Charles. Jamaica’s Consul General to New York Alsion Wilson is a member of the Rose Town Foundation Board and is the driving force behind the coalition between Espoir and the Rose Town Foundation in developing the after-school project.
Espoir will give the green light for the after-school project when the budget for the programme is presented to them by the Rose Town Foundation.
It is expected that the after-school project in Rose Town is to commence early in the new year.
Wilson recently attended a strategic meeting of the Rose Town Foundation in Jamaica. She sits on the employment committee which aims to bring employment projects to the community.
However, because of her deep interest in education, she also consults on the foundation’s education committee.
She told The Gleaner that the Rose Town after-school programme will operate five days per week and will help students with homework and other educational projects. She further disclosed that a violence prevention programme for battered women will also be carried out at the community centre.
There are also plans to build a soccer field in the community, she said.