Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

In an unprecedented move, the western Jamaica-based, Palmyra Foundation will supply textbooks valued at $20.3 million to infant schools across the country, surpassing last year's donations by 400 per cent.

"This is four and a half times the amount of books we were able to give in our first year, so we are heartened by achieving our goal of sending the message of hope to the community," Kathy Constanzo, foundation chairperson, told The Gleaner.

Distribution

Constanzo, and her team will start distribution to the country's largest infant school, Montego Bay Infant this week, where some 1,000 students will receive books and Digicel/Palmyra Foundation book bags.

Overall, 10,000 children will benefit from the project islandwide.

As successful as the support from corporate Jamaica was this year, the Foundation, said it missed its goal by a very small margin, "Our sincere hope and desire was to supply all textbooks to every single public-infant schoolchild this year, but due to the demand we will only be able to supply what the money will allow," said Constanzo.

The estimated cost to provide textbooks for all infant schools on the island is $27 million, and Constanzo and her team have raked in $20.3 million.

However, as she goes into another year of charity work, the focus is to bring early childhood education to the apex, and to improve the efforts and realise this dream.

Constanzo revealed plans to launch a 100 per cent Blue Mountain spring water tagged 'FOUNDWater' when the Palmyra Resort and Spa in Rose Hall opens at the end of the year.

Money from the sale of the water will help to sustain the project.

Not for resale

Launched in June 26, within the first three months, The Palmyra Foundation raised $4.4 million and supplied almost 2,000 children in the public infant schools in St James with all of their required textbooks.

"We stamped every single book 'donated by The Palmyra Foundation, not for resale' and bundled them per school, per class and per child and then we went into each and every school and distributed them into the hands of each child. It is truly the most meaningful thing I have ever done in my life," stated Kathy Constanzo.

She said her decision to take on this charity was prompted by the high illiteracy rate. "We found that most children are required to have two to three textbooks per year, but up to 100 per cent of the children in rural areas do not have any."