Beaufort Primary, Maud McLeod High join hands in Darliston for Peace Day march

Western Bureau:

Students, teachers, and community members aligned to the Beaufort Primary School and Maud McLeod High School gathered at the Darliston bus park in Westmoreland yesterday in a spirit of togetherness to observe Peace Day 2026.

The event, staged under the theme ‘Rebuild Jamaica, Piece by Peace’, saw the Beaufort Primary students starting the day’s activities with their devotion, during which the Maud McLeod students arrived in a peace march from their school grounds.

What followed was a combined and impromptu series of activities as both schools stood together in unity, prayer, and reflection.

Heather Spence, the principal of Beaufort Primary, told The Gleaner that the school was pleased with the reception from the community.

“We are here in Darliston Bus Park celebrating Peace Day, and as a school, we are happy to be here. The reception is good. Maud McLeod joined us, so we are having a grand celebration,” she said.

Referencing the theme, Spence highlighted the double meaning of the word peace, especially in light of recent hardships.

“Based on the theme, ‘Rebuild ...Piece by Peace’, we all know of the arrival of Hurricane Melissa, and so as a people, we have to build P-I-E-C-E by P-E-A-C-E. The world is in turmoil, and as a school, we see it fit to take peace to the community… to the nation and … across the world.”

She added that the activity was also about shaping young minds.

“As young as these children are, we have been instilling in them that they ought to be peacemakers in their homes, peacemakers in their community, and peacemakers in the nation.”

MESSAGE TO STUDENTS

During the devotion, Spence delivered a message to students, teachers, parents, and members of the transport sector in which she reminded them that national healing begins with everyday choices.

“Rebuilding our nation does not happen overnight. It happens in small daily actions … when we choose kindness instead of cruelty… unity instead of division,” she said.

“Each of you is a builder of peace. Each of you is a piece of the puzzle that makes our nation whole.”

Kerean Stephenson, the chairwoman of the board at Beaufort Primary, said the initiative was timely, particularly after months of disruption caused by Hurricane Melissa.

“I think it’s a very good initiative given what this side of the island would have gone through for the last five months … just to bring some semblance of security for the residents,” she said. “All is not lost.”

Stephenson noted that the activity also served a deeper purpose for students who were directly affected.

“I know a couple of the families would have been devastated by the hurricane. An initiative like this will kind of take their mind off the devastation and just rewire their thinking,” she said.

“Knowing that you have not just your home family, but a school family and a community that cares … this does help to reassure them that all is not lost.”

Among the youngest voices at the event was nine-year-old grade-three student Evonnie Samuels, who said the message of peace resonated with her personally.

“I feel very happy today because most of the time my family is not in peace,” Samuels told The Gleaner after the devotion.

Samuels stated that sometimes her family experiences unrest at home, so by attending the Peace Day observance, she felt happiness in the peace found within her school community.

HEARTFELT WORDS

“I am happy today to know that I am attending the Peace Day to know that peace should be across the world,” she added.

Her simple but heartfelt words captured the spirit of an event that saw students, teachers, and community members gathering in unity to demonstrate the day’s message.

Beverley Feare, the principal at Maud McLeod High, said her institution made a deliberate decision to take Peace Day beyond the school gates this year.

“We need to be out there in the community, and, especially with what’s happening in Darliston, we are bouncing back,” she said.

Darliston was one of the hardest-hit communities during the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October. Although things are not totally back to normal, with some nearby communities still without electricity and without water, the town centre has shown great signs of recovery and livelihood over these past four months.

“It’s going to be good for us to get ourselves out there and allow for the students to know that they need to be resilient,” said Feare.

She added that the coincidence of both schools being in the same space had a wider message attached.

“I feel really elated to know that we’re all on the same path to doing excellent work in western Jamaica.”

Margaret Mignott, guidance counsellor at Maud McLeod High, explained that the planning focused on student involvement and visibility.

“This year, we wanted to be more impactful … we thought, let us go out into the community because a lot has been happening, especially since Melissa,” she said.

Students were involved in creating charts, slogans, and chants, ensuring they felt included.

“They got creative, did their writings, made their charts … so that they can feel included and then get the message that we want them to get also.”

The initiative was put together by the high school’s guidance department, including guidance counsellor Laten Williams and Brittany Francis, who also helped to put together the chant that drove the Peace Day march.

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com