RESIDENTS OF Trench Town in South St. Andrew now have a new reading centre which was officially opened last Friday.
The centre, a project of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), in collaboration with the Trench Town Development Association (TTDA), was completed at a cost of $2.4 million.
Member of Parliament for the area, Dr. Omar Davies, who spoke at the opening, emphasised the need for a programme to eliminate illiteracy in the community.
He pointed out that the Grade Four Literacy Test administered by the Ministry of Education and Culture revealed that at least two primary schools in South St. Andrew had not performed satisfactorily.
Noting that children were performing "way below" their equivalent level in reading, Dr. Davies said a full programme, involving all five primary and all-age schools in the area, has been designed to tackle the problem.
Dr. Davies, who is also Minister of Finance and Planning, said he would be working with the Jamaica Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, to carry out a two-year programme aimed at "systematically bringing their reading skills up to scratch".
Pointing out that the programme would cost some $2.5 million, the Minister said he had already secured funding for one year of the project.
Declaring war against illiteracy, the Member of Parliament called on all parents in the community to join him in the effort toward making all children literate.
Turning to the reading centre, Dr. Davies urged the residents, particularly children, to use the facility provided for reading.
In her remarks, managing director for the JSIF, Scarlette Gillings, commended the contractor, Orrett Wellington, for completing the project within time and budget.
She said to date, the JSIF has approved 285 projects of which 152 have been completed. Additionally, she said some 90 classrooms in 74 schools have either been constructed or rehabilitated through funding from the JSIF.
The JSIF has also invested in 32 inner city projects for youth valued at over $120 million.
