Bolt planning big things for Waldensia - Sprint king eyes new project at alma mater

Western Bureau:

Sprint king Usain Bolt says he has big plans for the development of the sporting facilities at his alma mater, the Waldensia Primary School, in his hometown, Sherwood Content, in Trelawny.

Bolt was speaking during a Christmas treat which he staged yesterday for children from the community at the school. He said he had spent the Christmas period in the community as was the norm.

"Last night, I actually came to watch football up here. They were playing on the field down there and it wasn't good. I was saying to myself that that is going to be my next project - get them some good lighting and, definitely, a better field because the field is in a poor condition right now," Bolt told The Gleaner.

Regarding the treat, which saw hundreds of children and adults turning out to benefit from the festivities, Bolt said it was his pleasure to give back to the rural community where he was born.

"It is something that I really wanted to do. My foundation is really geared towards the kids. For me, I'm always here for the Christmas, so I said, 'Why not do a Christmas treat in my community?' and Digicel and Pepsi decided that they would come on board and join with my foundation and try to get the kids things that they would like. So it's just a fun day for the family to come out and enjoy themselves."

Bolt said people came from near and far to participate in what was the sixth staging of the event.

"It's always big. You have people who come from all over the place to take pictures and stuff like that ... . A lot of foreigners are here; some of them even came off the (cruise) ship that is here now and came to get some pictures ... ."