Food For The Poor awards grants to Jamaican youth

Food For The Poor (FFTP) - Jamaica continues its commitment to the education of Jamaica's youth by awarding educational grants to 299 students who are studying from basic to tertiary levels.

FFTP made the grant presentation at its Ellerslie Pen, St Catherine office recently. The grants awarded will ensure that back-to-school expenses, such as textbooks and/or tuition fees, are covered or arepaid in part.

David Mair, executive director of FFTP Jamaica, lauded the donors who offered their support and made it possible to equip students with much-needed resources to go back to school.

"Close to 300 students from basic to tertiary institutions will benefit from the disbursement of educational grants this year. None of this would have been possible without the consistent generosity of our donors, sourced through our head office, FFTP Incorporated," Mair said.

In his welcome remarks, Mair urged the awarded students to be good stewards of the gift. "Study hard, stay focused, and make us proud by maintaining an A or B average at all times," he said.

He also challenged parents to encourage their children and become actively involved in their lives.

IMPORTANCE AND IMPACT

The importance and the impact of this educational grant was not lost on the students, who were all appreciative of the gesture. Their faces lit up with joy, optimism, and gratitude as they collected their cheques from Mair and Craig Moss-Solomon, a director at FFTP Jamaica.

Chante Williams, a student at Wolmer's High School for Girls, expressed her gratitude.

"This programme has helped me a lot to acquire most necessities for back-to-school, such as to purchase books," she said.

"This is very important for a student. You need your books to analyse and really comprehend the subjects you are being taught, so, I would like to say thank you to Food For The Poor and its donors for creating this programme to aid children, such as myself, to succeed," she added.

Parents of the awardees were also grateful for the donation. Samantha Barrett, who has two children benefiting from the back-to-school programme, was one of those parents.

"The day when I got my children's booklists, I waved it in the air and I said, 'God, you are their heavenly father, so I am looking to you to provide for them.' In the afternoon, I got a call from Food For The Poor about the back-to-school programme and what I needed to provide," Barrett said.

FFTP Jamaica has been administering its back-to-school programme for more than 20 years and has seen great academic achievements from awardees, up to the tertiary level. The organisation has pledged to remain committed to the educational development of children across Jamaica.