A gift of love

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The students of Refuge Primary School in Trelawny have received gifts of personal chalkboards and special-educational attention from members of the Praying Pelican Missions from Pennsylvania in the United States.

This is the second summer that the group has visited Jamaica to do community work, through collaboration with the Kettering Circuit of Baptist Churches in Trelawny and the Jamaica Baptist Union.

"We're here ... doing service projects throughout Trelawny. Here at Refuge, at the primary school, we're helping out, playing with the kids, doing little projects, and giving each student their individual chalkboards," said Jan Schultz.

This year's group consists of members of the Salem Bible Church in Pennsylvania. During a visit to Refuge Primary last Thursday, the Praying Pelicans (comprising three adults and 15 teenagers) were seen playing games with the young students and engaging them in educational activities.

Another group coming

"Later on, another Praying Pelican group is going to come in and do some teacher training, how to use that to help in the students' education."

Principal Ava Blair said her students and parents, who have been working with the Praying Pelican Missions since 2009, are greatly appreciative of the missionaries' contribution to their community.

"Basically, they are here during the summer. Their summer begins as early as June, so usually for the last two weeks of school they come. They are here with us, and they participate in the devotional arrangement. They also give service to the community as well as to the school."

Last summer, the Praying Pelicans built tables, chairs and concrete stools for the school's 105-strong student population, and also did painting work on the school building, and helped the wider Refuge community by building foundations for houses and supplying requisite materials.