Port Royal Basic School gets helping hand in recovery from January fire
Published:Tuesday | April 2, 2024 | 12:10 AM
When Michelle Campbell, director of cross-sectoral at the Early Childhood Commission, went to the offices of Barita Foundation in New Kingston for the launch of the One Tab in School’s GoFundMe page in February, the thought of seeking help for fire victims at Port Royal Basic School rested heavily on her mind.
After entering the building and being seated in the lobby of the financial giant with other specially invited guests, such as Kim Mair, chief executive officer, JMMB Foundation, and Shirley Moncrieffe from the National Education Trust (NET), she made her concern known. This eventually filtered to the ears of the organisers of that launch event, Barita Foundation.
Now, one month later, the foundation has intervened by not only touring the institution, but also seeking partnership with representatives of the Australian chapter of the TX Foundation, originally from Taiwan, who flew to Jamaica to make the announcement of their partnership on March 21 at the school.
Tanketa Chance-Wilson, executive director of the Barita Foundation, told The Gleaner that it was a no-brainer when she heard what had happened at the school, and the TX Foundation committed approximately US$50,000 for renovation work to take place, which is to be completed before the start of the 2024-2025 academic year.
“The children were displaced and weren’t learning in ideal conditions, [so] we wanted to step in. The introduction was made to the TX Foundation through our association with Global Entrepreneurship Network Jamaica Chapter, and we aligned in terms of our interest and focus on early childhood education,” Chance-Wilson said.
“The TX Foundation invests in establishing infrastructural development of early childhood institutions across the globe, and they were wiling to come on board and fund this initiative, which involves rebuilding the school and providing a safe and healthy environment for teaching and learning to take place and the children to thrive,” she said.
Dalaine Marriott, principal of Port Royal Basic School, expressed gratitude when the announcement was made.
Marriott, who was devastated that the fire took place on January 25 around 9:00 p.m., mere days after landing her dream job as a principal on January 2, said it was the veranda of the school that was now being used to educate the 20 enrolled pupils.
“I finally got my dream job and then this happened. We lost both classrooms. The office and bathrooms are still covered with fire damage, and as it relates to what happened, we have to pay for a fire certificate to find out, but we have no confirmed cause. We have no idea,” Marriott said.
She noted that before the fire took place, she had everything required at her disposal for effective learning inside the space, and while the disaster has robbed them of that treasure, they are now looking forward to the replacement with the funds from the TX Foundation.
“We are very happy about the investment and what’s going to happen over the course of the next few months. I’m glad the kids won’t be outside for September,” she said.
Marriott also gave thanks to everyone who made donations to the school following the fire, especially those who donated pencils she said can last the school for “the next 10 years”.
An MoU was signed among Barita Foundation, TX Foundation, and Port Royal Basic School for the US$50,000 to be spent on the school.