Portlanders embrace treat
Published:Monday | September 2, 2024 | 12:09 AMGareth Davis Sr/Gleaner Writer
Folly Road, Portland
At least six single mothers are commending organisers of a back-to-school treat held last Friday at a complex in Folly, Portland.
Among those hailing the treat, which was aimed at assisting needy students, was 45-year-old Maxine Brown of a Sommers Town address in Port Antonio, whose four children also benefited from the back-to-school treat.
Brown also spoke about the financial challenges faced by her ahead of the start of the 2024-2025 academic school year, in her capacity as a single parent who had to assume the role of mother and father in the lives of her two boys and two girls, aged six, nine, 12, and 14.
Brown, who pointed out that she has encountered serious financial challenges following the passage of Hurricane Beryl in July, said she was happy for the assistance provided by Member of Parliament for East Portland Annmarie Vaz, which will see her children returning to school with at least the basic back-to-school items.
“I sell box juices, ice cream, soda, bag juice, and fruit juices, which I had to dump after the hurricane,” she commented.
“There was no electricity and so all a mi stuff dem started to spoil. Business was good before the hurricane, but, after, everything crash. I had to dump all a mi chicken meat, fish, beef, pork, and chicken back. I operate a little grocery from home, which pay the bills and provides valuable income for my family. But all of that is gone now,” she added.
Other parents, like Charmaine Hylton of Boundbrook Crescent, Deborah King of Prospect, Michelle Pink of Anchovy, Marcia Davis of Snow Hill district, and Janet Swaby of Red Hassle Road also expressed appreciation for the back-to-school treat, while chiming in that it could not have come at a better time.
Among the items donated by Vaz’s ‘Action Ann’ team were school bags, uniform, composition books, pens, pencils, erasers, rulers, tablets, calculators, geometry sets, food packages, face masks, umbrellas, footballs, and netballs.
Vaz described the back-to-school treat as special, saying it somewhat eases the burdens on the pockets of parents who she said have not yet recovered from the disruption caused by Beryl on July 3, which forced many to dump loads of meat and basic food items as a result of the disruption in electricity.
“It is the final treat for the year and I am so happy to be able to assist parents and students who have undergone some serious challenges, “she said.