Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer

A new Education/Homework Centre has been built in the impoverished Portmore Lane community in Portmore, St. Catherine.

The newly-constructed centre, labelled the Portmore Lane Advanced Centre for Education (PLACE), is a joint sponsorship between non-profit organisations the Digicel Foundation and the Covenant Community Church, totalling $2.5 million.

Major General Robert Neish, executive director of the foundation, said: "I am excited about this project, since it falls within a community which is having serious economic and social problems."

He added: "We view this centre as one which will serve as a support mechanism for parents and families as well as provide children with additional educational opportunities."

The PLACE will benefit not just Portmore Lane but the wider Portmore Gardens and Cumberland communities. Computers, books, stationery, a kitchenette, desk and chairs have also been donated.

General Neish said the project's genesis came when a member of his staff asked for assistance in strengthening the outreach programme to the youth in the Portmore Lane community.

Rescuing the youth

Leon Atkins, project manager at Portmore Lane Covenant Community Church, said the economically-challenged Portmore Lane has persistent problems such as a troubling school dropout rate, teenage pregnancy, unemployment and criminality.

"Our aim is to rescue the youth and other residents of the area from the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, underemployment, unemployment and crime," Mr. Atkins added.

He emphasised that the centre will not just be an avenue for teenagers to do school projects, but that it will also offer remedial reading classes for youth and literacy classes for adults. In the initial stages, the centre will be open to the community during the afternoons.