In a time of global recession and personal financial hardships, there are still some people who continue to give generously.

One such person is 87-year-old Stanley Amritt, affectionately called 'Busher', a banana farmer from the rural community of Highgate, St Mary.

Amritt donated $4.5 million for the construction of a computer laboratory and adjoining classroom, which have been named after him, at the nearby Highgate Primary and Junior High School.

Principal of the school, Claudette Duncan, told the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) that the facility, which was officially opened on May 28, was born out of the need to provide grades four to nine students with basic computer skills.

Offered a computer

She recalled the day Amritt agreed to sponsor the project.

"I went to ... his farm and we were talking about the challenges we were facing at the school, and he offered me a computer. I informed him that my interest at the time really was to get a sponsor for a computer building. So, a few days after, he accepted and said that he would do it for me," she related.

Duncan said the students stand to benefit greatly from the establishment of the air-conditioned facility which is equipped with 13 computers with Internet access and three printers.

"For the students, it means they'll have more access to research material that they use and so the 1,449 students enrolled will also be able to utilise educational materials and programmes from the Internet, especially relating to foreign languages," she pointed out.

She said teachers and administrators would also profit from the lab, as they would now be able to better organise lesson plans and establish a database with student profiles, as well as performance and medical records.

Yvonne Amritt, speaking on behalf of her husband, who does not like publicity, stated that his decision to donate the computer laboratory was to ensure that the students have the necessary skills to compete in an information technology-driven world.

"He wants them to be computer literate before they reach high school," she told JIS.

Amritt's philanthropy is not limited to Highgate Primary and Junior High. Duncan said the farmer has handed over the land and the dwelling house where his late parents resided to the Harmony Hall Basic School, which is sited at the property. The school was renamed the Amritt Basic School in his honour. He has also donated land to St Mary High School to build a house for the teachers who live far away.

Duncan said Amritt, who has a 200-acre farm, also supplies the institution with water whenever there is a shortage.

- JIS