FOOD FOR THE POOR BRINGS GIFT OF NEW EARLY CHILDHOOD INSTITUTION TO ACCOMPONG

Quadripartite Partnership Leads To Establishment Of Accompong Basic School

Accompong, St. Elizabeth – March 20, 2013: Food For The Poor today officially opened a new Basic School in Accompong, St. Elizabeth, which it constructed to replace the derelict structure of the former Basic School serving that community. This is the first early childhood facility in St. Elizabeth to be constructed and officially opened under the Food For The Poor Jamaica 50 Programme, which seeks to construct 50 early childhood institutions in 50 months, in observance of Jamaica’s 50th year of independence.

 

The Accompong Basic School marks the 9th early childhood institution to be constructed within the ambit of the FFP Jamaica 50 Programme. The school was built as a result of a quadripartite partnership among Food For The Poor, Accompong, Grand Jamaica Homecoming 2012 and the Ray Chang Foundation – based in Canada.

 

(From right) Andrew Mahfood (from right), Chairman, Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, Hon. Ronald Thwaites, Education Minister; and Daynia Miles, Principal, Accompong Basic School; do the ribbon cutting exercise to signal the official opening of the institution on Wednesday, March 20. 

(From left) Samantha Mahfood, Executive Director, FFP Canada; Donette Chin-Loy Chang, President, Jamaica Homecoming Canada; students of Accompong Basic School;  .C. Hutchinson, Member of Parliament, North Western St Elizabeth; and Ferron Williams, Colonel of the Accompong Maroons.

Andrew Mahfood (from right), Chairman, Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica; Samantha Mahfood, Executive Director, FFP Canada and His Excellency Robert Ready, the High Commissioner of Canada to Jamaica (on ladder) help to paint the Accompong Basic School, St. Elizabeth.

 

Andrew Mahfood, Chairman, Food For The Poor Jamaica told participants at the opening ceremony that his charity is passionate about assisting Jamaica to create a legacy of easier access to education for the nation’s children, by way of the FFP Jamaica 50 Programme.

 

“Every child in this island deserves nothing less than an opportunity to gain education of the very highest quality,” he remarked.   

 

Mr. Mahfood announced that the new Accompong Basic School has three classrooms which can be subdivided into additional learning spaces, sickbay, teachers’ office, kitchen and bathrooms. “We have also furnished the school with beautiful, child-friendly furniture, which will enhance the creative, learning environment for the youngsters,” he said. “The 37 students on roll are benefiting from the new facilities, but the school can now accommodate up to 100 students.”

 

The FFPJ Chairman expressed the wish that the school would become a hub of successful activities, not just for the school population, but also for the wider Accompong community. “I encourage every adult citizen of Accompong, to live service-oriented lives for the benefit of the children of this community and the nation in general. Remember, Jamaica is counting on you to be positive mentors for the children!” Mr. Mahfood encouraged.

 

The construction of the Accompong Basic School is another chapter in FFP’s long and wonderful rapport with the community. Over the years, the charity has built housing units for some residents, as well as distributed food and clothing supplies, to persons in need. FFP also built a sanitation unit at the Accompong Primary School, and supplied the institution with furniture.

 

Addressing the opening ceremony, Samantha Mahfood, Executive Director, FFP Canada, commended Grand Jamaica Homecoming 2012 and the Ray Chang Foundation for their financial support to the construction of the school. “Food For the Poor Canada works to garner support from and inform Canadians about the work that we are doing in Jamaica and across the Caribbean and Latin America - FFP supports 17 countries across the region; we can only do it with the help of people and organizations like all of you here today,” said Ms. Mahfood.

 

She also expressed appreciation to His Excellency Robert Ready, the High Commissioner of Canada to Jamaica, for his support of the work of FFP.  Ms. Mahfood announced that Canada remains one of Food For The Poor’s strongest bilateral partners in the charity’s social support programmes in Jamaica and the wider region.   The FFP Canada Executive Director urged parents to help their children use the educational opportunities available and also to help them to grow strong in all areas of their lives.

 

Hon. Ronald Thwaites, Minister of Education and keynote speaker at the event, underscored the importance of the nation increasing expenditure on early childhood education as a way of fast-tracking the country’s development. He said his ministry will be increasing its financial commitment to early childhood education this year. “About three per cent of the education budget is on basic education. This year we are putting $1 million more on basic education,” Mr. Thwaites disclosed.

 

Minister Thwaites urged the Accompong community to also use the new basic school as a parenting centre so that parents can come in and discuss their needs and solutions together. He pledged that the ministry is willing to do its part in assisting the school in any way it can.

 

Pointing to the value of cultural education, Mr. Thwaites disclosed that the ministry is putting plans in place to ensure that within two years, material on maroon culture will be incorporated into the civics curriculum.

 

Donette Chin-Loy Chang, President, Jamaica Homecoming Canada and Hon. Douglas Orane, Honorary Patron, Grand Jamaica Homecoming 2012, pledged their organisations’ ongoing support for the Accompong Basic School. Echoing similar sentiments, the two noted that Jamaica will only experience true development when Jamaicans at home and abroad invest in the education of preschoolers. During the official opening, both donor organizations provided each student of the Accompong Basic School with a school bag and educational supplies.

 

Daynia Miles, Principal of the institution, expressed appreciation to FFP and the donors for the construction of the new school. She and other members of the school community presented the stakeholders responsible for the project with cultural tokens of appreciation.

 

Also in attendance at today’s event were His Excellency  Robert Ready, Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica; Hon. Ray Chang, Patron, Grand Jamaica Homecoming ; J.C. Hutchinson, Member of Parliament, North Western St Elizabeth;  Ferron Williams, Colonel of the Accompong Maroons and Keisha Lawson, Development Officer , Early Childhood Commission.

 

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Food For The Poor (FFP)-Jamaica is the largest charity organization in the country.  Food For The Poor Inc., located in Florida, USA, was named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. It is an interdenominational Christian agency that does much more than feed the millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. FFP provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96% of all donations going directly to programmes that help the poor. For more information visit our Web site at www.foodforthepoorja.com  

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Contact:

Erica James-King, PROComm, T: 926-6740 or 564-5277

Petri-Ann Henry, Food For The Poor, T:  984-5005 or 564-2886

FFP GIVES BANISTER BASIC NEW HOME

ONLY a year ago, the administrators of Bannister New Testament Basic School in Old Harbour, St Catherine, were contemplating closing the school's doors — having grown tired of keeping classes in the church building.

It had been 17 years too long, and the space had become quite inconvenient for the staff and 30-odd three- to six-year-olds enrolled at the institution.

Donnette Swearing (right), principal of Bannister New Testament Basic School, and teacher Tamice Simmonds pose outside what will be the school’s new home when completed later this year. The building, which is 70 per cent complete, is a donation from charity organisation Food for the Poor. (PHOTO: JOSEPH WELLINGTON) 

"This has proven to be a difficult task as the school population continues to grow, and also to accommodate the students, teachers have to physically remove and then replace church furniture whenever classes are completed for the day," principal of the school, Donnette Swearing, told the Jamaica Observer in a February 2012 interview

"The situation is so serious that, if we are not able to secure a place to call home any time soon, we may be forced to close down our operations," she declared.

Today, thanks to Food for the Poor (FFP), the school is well on its way to its own building in the churchyard. The charity organisation came the school's aid after the situation was highlighted in the Observer.

The new building, which is about 70 per cent complete, consists of three classrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen area, and an administrative office.

"Food for the Poor read about our problems and came on board," Swearing said.

The new building is expected to be completed in time for the start of the new school year in September. Among the work left to be down, Swearing shared, is the laying of tiles and installation of fixtures.

Last week, the charity organisation declined to say how much is being spent on the new building. However, the Observer was told that residents in the area helped in the construction.

The smile teacher Tamice Simmonds wore last Wednesday was in stark contrast to her facial expression last year when the school faced closure. At the time she pleaded for help from the Ministry of Education and "anyone" who was interested. Today, she is thankful.

"I, too, am very happy with what has happened. Last year we were on the brink of closing down. This year things have improved tremendously," Simmonds said as she supervised her students who were playing near the unfinished building.

Meanwhile, residents in the community, particularly parents whose children attend the school, were overjoyed by the positive development.

"To see that the teachers had been struggling so long, and to see that they are finally getting help makes me really happy," said Natasha McCalla, mother of one, who resides in Bullet Tree Square, which is in close proximity to the school.

Her sentiments were shared by Donald Whyte, who also expressed hope that the completion deadline would be met.

Original Source: Jamaica Observer - March 11, 2013

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/A-new-home-for-Bannister-Basic_13796263#ixzz2NGpfB1tI

OVERSEAS STUDENTS PARTNER WITH FOOD FOR THE POOR TO BUILD HOME FOR WIDOWED FATHER OF SEVEN

Spanish Town, Jamaica – March 6, 2013 - Close to the end of January 2013, a group of students from St. Joseph Academy (SJA) in the United States joined Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica for a mission trip and got a glimpse of the poor living conditions of a widowed father of seven from Gregory Park in St. Catherine.  Determined to make a difference, 19 juniors and seniors from the institution returned to the community recently not just for a casual visit but to construct a two-bedroom home for the family.

Last Wednesday, Feb 27, the team of students and four chaperones, with hammers, paint and paint brushes in hand, worked assiduously alongside FFP contractors to build and paint the home, which included sanitation facilities.

Students from the St. Joseph Academy, United States, and team members of Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica engaged in the construction of a two-bedroom house for 44-year-old widowed father, Leslie Lewis and his seven young children. The house-building project took place on Wednesday, February 27.

Forty-four year-old Leslie Lewis and his seven children of Gregory Park, St. Catherine are all smiles as they proudly accept the keys to their new home from Social Outreach Manager at Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, Marcia Hall-Walker, during a presentation ceremony last Wednesday, February 27. Looking on is Deacon Bryan Ott (left), Campus Minister, of St. Joseph Academy United States.  

Within five hours, the structure was complete and the recipients presented with the keys to their new home, furniture, clothing, toys, personal care items and school supplies. “Words are not enough to say what this gift means to us as a family.”  said the emotional 44-year-old father, Leslie Lewis, “They (SJA) came and saw our situation and decided to do something about it by giving us a more comfortable and secure home…they never had to do this for us.  I am so thankful,”

Prior to the intervention of SJA and FFP Jamaica, Mr. Lewis lived in a deteriorating, one-room concrete structure with his seven children, ages 16, 15, 13, 7, 5 and 1 (twin boys).  The structure was no more than 20 feet long and 8 feet wide and was without sanitation.  The family of eight shared three beds. 

An occasional taxi operator, Mr. Lewis tried desperately to provide for his family but as he explained, “I could not afford to build a better home for us, especially when my wife died in 2012 after giving birth to the twin boys.  Both my wife and I wanted to give our children a more comfortable home, especially for my two eldest children, both females, who needed their own space and privacy.”

Thanks to the students and Food For The Poor, Mr. Lewis’ dream has become a reality.  “Now my children can have a home that they can be proud of,” declared Mr. Lewis. Building homes for the poor in Jamaica has always been part of the mission of St. Joseph Academy.  According to the Campus Minister, Deacon Bryan Ott, the Academy has been partnering with FFP for the past 13 years and each mission trip involves building homes for the destitute. 

“A group of students met the family in January of this year and we decided to channel our fundraising efforts towards building a home for them because the need was obvious.  We continue to partner with FFP because it’s always a fulfilling experience to be able to improve the lives of the less fortunate and we are indeed happy to have assisted Mr. Lewis and his children,” Deacon Ott said.

He further explained “some of the students in this group are coming for the first time while others are repeat participants.  However, one thing is true for all of us; we always leave feeling as if we have received far more than we have given to the beneficiaries.” Social Outreach Manager at Food For The Poor Jamaica, Marcia Hall-Walker, said that the Charity’s aim is to foster transformation as participants get the opportunity to participate in the work and interact with the poor face to face.  “Today’s project was a life changing experience for all the participants and we are happy to have shared in this occasion with SJA in providing a home for the Lewis family.  We encourage corporate Jamaica to join us in this mission as we help one person, one family at a time,” she added.

Since its inception 30 years ago, Food For The Poor has provided in excess of 22, 000 Jamaicans with comfortable and secure housing.  In 2012, a total of 1,166 houses were built for the poor.

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Food For The Poor (FFP)-Jamaica is the largest charity organization in the country.  Food For The Poor Inc., located in Florida, USA, was named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. It is an interdenominational Christian agency that does much more than feed the millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. FFP provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96% of all donations going directly to programmes that help the poor. For more information visit our Web site at www.foodforthepoorja.com 

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Contact:

Erica James-King|PROComm l (876) 564-5277 or (876) 926-6740

Erica.James-King@procomm.com.jm

Petri-Ann Henry | Food For The Poor Jamaica I (876) 564-2886 or (876) 907-3664 | petri-annh@foodforthepoorja.org

FOOD FOR THE POOR SCHOOL BUILDING TRIP HELPS POOR, STRENGTHENS BONDS

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 4, 2013) –On President’s Day weekend, 51 philanthropic individuals journeyed to Jamaica to participate in the construction of a school they raised money to build in partnership with Food For The Poor.

Chris Davitt and Craig Ruppert, along with help from their families and friends, expanded Knoxwood Basic School in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, by constructing additional classrooms to improve the school’s condition for 142 students. The group also found time to frame the windows, doors, walls, roof, and paint a prime coat on a second school; and poured the foundation of two houses for needy families. 

The building mission trip, Feb. 15-18, offered opportunities for families to reconnect and strengthen their relationships. 

“I believe one unexpected benefit of these trips is that parents and children both learn that giving back is not a sacrifice at all, it’s fulfilling,” said Chris Davitt, President of Ruppert Landscape.

Since 2001, this group of committed donors in partnership with Food For The Poor has built four schools, 165 housing units, a home for the elderly, equipped a community with a sustainable fishing village project and installed two water projects. Their efforts have improved the health and living conditions of many throughout Jamaica and Haiti.

“Even though I have traveled with Food For The Poor many times, I always return reminded of the vital importance of the charity’s work,” said Craig Ruppert, Founder and CEO of Ruppert Landscape. “The impoverished in Jamaica treat us like we are family, which is just one reason we want to continue to return.”

The annual trips offer an opportunity to show young adults the importance and benefits of being good stewards and team players. At the Jerusalem Home for Handicapped Children, before group members picked up their hammers and paint brushes, they played catch, swung on the swing set, and completed puzzles with the children and adults.

“One of the most valuable takeaways from our trips is the bond that is formed between parents and their children when they both step out of their comfort zone together,” said Davitt.

This year, more than half of the group was high school or college age. Some of the schools represented included: Catonsville High School (Catonsville, Md.), Connelly School of the Holy Child (Potomac, Md.), California University of Pennsylvania (California, Pa.), East Carolina University (Greenville, N.C.), Fordham University (Bronx, N.Y.), Georgetown Visitation in (Washington, D.C.), Our Lady of Good Counsel High School (Olney, Md.), St. John’s College High School (Washington, D.C.), The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington and Potomac, Md.),University of Southern Carolina (Columbia, S.C.), and Urbana High School (Ijamsville, Md.)

School-building travelers included: Ashley Arcidiacono, Austin Band, Darryn Band, Jake Band, Daniel Behrman, Teri Boragno, JD Butler, Brittany Caceres, Lou Caceres, Kearney Cassidy, Chris Davitt, Emmet Davitt, Patrick Davitt, Wooly “Ward” Devine, Annie Donatelli, DJ Donatelli, Maggie Donatelli, Mary Donatelli, Jenna Fairbanks. Daniela Falcone, John Gerold, Lyndsey Gerold, Cindy Comerford Gillette, Andrew Greene, Kathleen Greene, John Hollingsworth, Tricia Horn, Emily Hunt, Frank Kraus, Jacob Livingston, Noah Livingston, Scott Livingston, Cathy Maier, Katie Mauck, Megan McQuinn, Miranda Mitchell, Molly Moore, Andy Moss, Cody Moss, Mary and Stephen Moss, Stephanie Moss, Battista Orcino, Christina Orcino, Dominic Orcino, John Ossing, Erin Reynolds, Peter Rudnicki, Craig Ruppert, Carter Ward, and Becky Ward.

You can learn more about Food For The Poor’s mission trips at www.FoodForThePoor.org/mission or by emailing missions@foodforthepoor.com.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.


Contact:
Erica James-King 
Communication Manager | PROComm
6 Kingsway | Kingston 10.
P 876-926-6740 | M 876-564-5277 | F 876-926-8676
Email : Erica.James-King@procomm.com.jm