News On The Go

MP awards PEP students

Member of Parliament (MP) for South West St Elizabeth Floyd Green awarded 36 students who completed the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), and 60 additional students who are pursuing their tertiary-level education, at the third staging of his Grow With Green Educational Awards last Friday at Bennett Catering Hall in Luana, St Elizabeth.

Green says despite the significant calls on an MP’s Constituency Development Fund, it is best to put the majority towards education.

“The only equaliser in life is education. It’s the only thing that, regardless of whether you were born rich or poor, when you work hard and do well, no one can take that away from you,” he reiterated to the students.

Green lauded the students, stating that they are in a more favourable position than many cohorts before.

Five wards being renovated at Spanish Town Hospital

J$20 million is currently being spent to renovate five wards at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine.

The money for the project is being provided by the South East Regional Health Authority.

Ceiling ‘beds’ are to be removed and replaced, ward areas are to be meshed, and ceiling fans and additional hand wash stations will be installed, among with other work.

The hospital was also the recent recipient of two other major donations. It got a brand new elevator from the National Health Fund, and the European Union-funded Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality also donated funds, which are currently being used to construct a new High Dependency Unit at the hospital.

Young persons complete empowerment programme

As part of their rehabilitation process, young persons at the South Camp Juvenile Remand and Correctional Centre in Kingston have completed a six-week summer empowerment programme.

The initiative, which was spearheaded through the ‘We Transform’ Programme, involved sessions facilitated by the National Council on Drug Abuse and activities at the recent children’s expo, held at the Jamaica Conference Centre.

There was also art and craft at the South Camp centre, where wards expressed themselves through creative works, such as tie and dye, beaded jewellery, painting of murals and bottle décor, as well as speech and performances.

Tertiary scholars get financial aid

Twenty-four tertiary-level students have received financial assistance totalling $17 million in the seventh Annual Summer of Service (SOS) Programme sponsored by The Governor General’s Programme for Excellence.

At the presentation ceremony at King’s House on Tuesday, Governor General Sir Patrick Allen congratulated the award recipients for their volunteerism, for showing they cared about others, and that they were willing to make sacrifices to help others and themselves succeed.

The students worked in seven parishes across Jamaica for eight weeks this summer in a variety of projects. These included: working at state-operated children’s homes and golden age homes, providing creative learning activities for children with disabilities, and providing back-to-school supplies.

The SOS is a programme under The Governor General’s I Believe Initiative. To date, 75 persons have received assistance from the programme.

National Children’s Home receives donations

Lee’s Fifth Avenue contributed well-needed assistance to the National Children’s Home last Friday.

The top floor of the building was destroyed by fire earlier this month.

The contribution, which included school items such as khaki uniforms, shoes, underwear, tops and other new articles of clothing, were personally issued to the boys and girls in the home.

“Our hearts go out to the National Children’s Home,” said Sonia Trehan, general manager of Lee’s Fifth Avenue. “After the fire that occurred and (with) back to school in full swing, the next natural step for us was to see how we could assist. We are proud to support the good work being done by the home, and hope these contributions will make a difference to those who’ve been affected.”

Kyla Jackson, deputy director of child care, gave thanks for the support. “You have no idea how much this means to us,” she said.