Jericho gets multpurpose boost
Published:Sunday | February 27, 2022 | 12:11 AMRasbert Turner - Gleaner Writer
FORMER NATIONAL netballer Nicole Aiken-Pinnock implored students of the Jericho Primary School in St Catherine to remain focused and believe in themselves.
‘’I must tell you that you have received a gift which can help you to achieve your goal in sports or whatever you may be involved in,’’ Aiken-Pinnock said.
Aiken-Pinnock, who represented Jamaica in netball from 2007 to 2017, was Thursday’s guest speaker at the handover ceremony of a multipurpose course to the North West St Catherine institution.
‘’I must tell you that while going to primary school, I was not as fortunate as you, as it took some time before my mother allowed me to be involved in netball, but I had people, such as my physical education teacher, who believed in me, but you must apply yourselves,’’ said Aiken-Pinnock.
The benefactors were the Sport Development Foundation (SDF), which forked out $7.4 million to build the facility.
According to the SDF’s general manager, Denzil Wilks, the fact that Jericho Primary is a rural school made the presentation of the facility that much more special.
SPECIAL DAY
‘’We feel very special here today since it was a rural school. We see sports as very important and since the inception of the SDF we have done more than 1,000 projects in the last 26 years,’’ said Wilks.
His views were echoed by SDF director Newton Amos, who represented Minister of Sports Olivia Grange.
“This is a special day at the school, so the ball is in your court, therefore, you must care for the gift,’’ said Amos.
Member of Parliament Hugh Graham brought greetings via video link.
Principal Fabian Facey-James said the addition of the court was appreciated, because previously students have to battle the rugged ground to play the games which are crucial to their overall development.
‘’There were times when we had to work with the mud each time it rains. That has changed because of SDF. We hope that the trajectory is maintained throughout the rural areas,’’ Facey-James said.
“We can now even rent the facility to host community events and rallies. This is a great day for Jericho Primary and gratitude is a must,’’ he added.
Jericho Primary holds 620 students.