JPS Foundation’s Summer Camp Ablaze ignites young minds

It was a week of fun-filled activities at the JPS Foundation Summer Camp Ablaze 2023, which benefited over 50 youngsters in the Farm Heights and Rose Heights communities in St James.

Summer Camp Ablaze, an annual initiative of the JPS Foundation, had a multi-prong approach to help the young minds to not only delve in fun activities, but get tangible lessons. “The objective of Summer Camp Ablaze was to give a holistic experience, wherein students would engage in a week of activities focused on personal development, environmental stewardship, conservation and energy management, as well as arts and culture and Jamaican heritage,” said Sophia Lewis, head of JPS Foundation.

“We also focused on instilling positive values and build confidence that we hope would help them to be well-rounded citizens,” she said, adding that it was imperative to get the children involved in broad-based discussions on key issues. “These communities are facing many challenges, such as crime and violence, which impact our children negatively. The JPS Foundation, as a part of our mandate to be a part of the communities that JPS serves, saw it as imperative to reach out to the students here,” Lewis said.

She said that not only will the students benefit, but their families will gain from the knowledge imparted concerning how climate change is affecting them, and how they can make a difference by being good environmental stewards and following energy conservation practices.

The children were not confined to the walls of the community centre, but enjoyed hands-on experiences. A highlight of the camp were the field trips to the JPS White River Hydro Plant and the Bogue Power Plant. The campers learned about how energy is produced, distributed and used. They also learned about energy management at home, at school and at the workplace.

Camp Ablaze was supported by the Social Development Commission, St. James Parish Library, RADA, the Peace Management Initiative (Western), Farm/Rose Heights Community Development Committee and the member of parliament and councillors’ offices of the St James Central constituency. The camp was held at the Farm/Rose Heights Community Centre in July.