BY ANTHONY LEWIS
Observer West writer
GREEN ISLAND, Hanover
PRINCIPAL of the Green Island Primary School in Hanover, Vaccianna Moseley, says the recent intervention of donor agencies, such as Food For The Poor (FFP), has transformed the once ailing institution into a school that is now having a positive impact on the lives of students.
"These people (FFP and Couples Negril Resort) have been working miracles at the school," Moseley told Jamaica Observer West.
"The Green Island Primary that was, is not what it is now. It has been changing, and this has impacted significantly on the students, because their confidence levels are up, they are highly motivated, they feel more comfortable in the environment that they are in, and what they expect to get. They really have a renewed sense of pride."
Moseley noted that longstanding issues, such as a leaky classroom or a classroom where "the person next door disturbs you because there is only a chalkboard between both classes," are now being addressed. so "we can now concentrate on what school is all about, which is the teaching/learning process."
The school principal was speaking in light of the FFP's recent sterling efforts to assist the Western Hanover-based institution, which serves communities including Green Island, Cousins Cove, Prospect, Cauldwell, Pell River, Orange Bay, Salt Spring, Logwood, Kendal, Grange and Santoy.
In January, FFP embarked on the construction of two two-storey buildings costing approximately US$50,000. At the end of construction, which is expected to end before the start of the new school year, Green Island Primary is expected to have 10 additional classrooms, literacy, numeracy and music rooms, as well as additional bathroom facilities for teachers.
Last year, FFP repaired the leaky roofs and ceiling at the buildings which house the school.
Prior to the repairs, sections of the roofs were covered with tarpaulin provided by the Ministry of Education.
FFP also tiled some areas of the flooring, repainted the entire school buildings and constructed a gazebo, which is now being used by both parents and students.
Moseley noted that the school, which was constructed in 1920, has grown significantly and was severely challenged by overcrowding.
He said in an effort to deal with the overcrowding, past administrations added new classrooms and used chalkboards as partitions.
"The sad story is that I don't know what happened in the past, but when I came to that school two-and-a-half years ago, I discovered that the classes were overcrowded, there were chalkboards that divided the classes like traditional old time school, it was very hot, and parents did not want to send their children to that school," said Moseley.
He added that when he took over the operations of the institution, just over 300 students were enrolled there. Enrollment, he said, presently stands at 547.
With the ongoing construction by FFP, Moseley pointed out that the aim is not to increase the numbers, but to provide the best facility for learning.
"We don't want it to grow any further, but what we want is for those [students] that we have, we want to provide them with the best facility for learning," he stressed.
Moseley told Observer West that sometime ago there were talks by the Ministry of Education to relocate the school due mainly to the poor state of the physical plant and overcrowding, but "this did not happen for various reasons."
At that time, he added, he told his staff to "make use of what they have until the school is relocated."
"So, we went out in search of help, and Couples Negril came on board, and they did a lot. I guess they are the ones that actually broke this spell, because they came and they helped to paint over the school and to give us some facilities to help the students," Moseley noted, adding that "we went beyond that and got in contact with Food For The Poor and like angels, they came and they were more than happy to help."
Last June, Couples Negril also donated play equipment to the school valued at over US$4,000.
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