A group of young students have taken on the task of helping to educate Jamaica’s children.
Why, you might ask? At last month’s launching of the Educate The Children Fund, acting Jamaican High Commissioner, Dale Anderson spoke of financial and personnel resources within the Jamaican educational system as being scarce. For this very reason, the enthusiastic overseas students of the London School of Economics (LSE) have devised the Fund which not only helps out the government – but the needy children as well.
The Educate The Children Fund is an ongoing concern by the Fund’s committee, the LSE’s Afro-Caribbean Society and the Jamaican government. It is aimed at helping all needy children throughout the Caribbean, but because 1987 is Jamaica’s 25th independence anniversary, Jamaica’s children will be first to benefit.
How does the public get involved though? Simply by buying a raffle ticket. These cost £1 and will be available to the public at a number of locations.
President of the Fund, Joseph Issa told the Gleaner that they hope to raise £2000 by May and the money will be used to purchase Math and English Grammar books from London to send to worst hit primary schools back in Jamaica. He stressed however that the amount of money raised will determine just how many schools benefit from the drive.
Mr. Anderson, in his speech pin-pointed a number of reasons for existing problems in the educational system: Jamaica’s brain drain – the loss of intellectuals to North America and Canada in particular; the recession and the effect of the country’s rising birthrate on the economy among them.
He said 40 per cent of the Jamaica’s budget was spent in education, but that it was still necessary for people to get involved in a direct way such as the Educate The Children Fund.
“The demands on our budget are extreme,” he said. The realization that the government’s budget cannot carry all of this expense means that community efforts to support the schemes have increased.
Anderson praised the Jamaican community for acknowledging that the schools are their responsibility, noting that parents saw schools as ‘not just a place to send and forget about your children’.
The film, Take Her To Jamaica was also screened, showing various aspects of Jamaican life. Mr. Anderson said he hoped the film would provide some incentive to buy raffle tickets to help the children.
First prize in the raffle is a ten day all-inclusive holiday for two at Hedonism II in Negril, Jamaica. Winners will fly with Virgin Air, from London to Miami and from there, in Air Jamaica to Montego Bay. Desnoes and Geddes have donated five second prizes of a case of Red Stripe beer; while ten third prizes of a Jamaica T-shirt have been donated by Ray Miles’ C.M Associates.
Hurry and get your ticket.
Source: The Gleaner