MoBay Jerk Fest organisers give back to Salt Spring Primary
Published:Wednesday | June 21, 2023 | 1:24 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
PARENTS OF the St James-based Salt Spring Primary and Infant School recently got a financial boost to help their children’s back-to-school preparations for the upcoming September term, with a combined $200,000 in grants given by John and Morris Lindo, organisers of the 2023 Montego Bay Jerk Fest.
Eight parents, along with representatives from the school’s administrative body, were on hand to receive the grants from the Lindo brothers, both past students of the institution, during the Montego Bay Jerk Fest’s official media launch at the Holiday Inn Resort in Rose Hall, St James, last Thursday.
Bridget Ellis, whose child will be entering the third grade at Salt Spring Primary come September, was gushing with gratitude over the financial assistance provided by the Lindos.
“I am elated because basically this is for supporting the back-to-school effort for books and uniform supplies, and they have been contributing for a very long time,” Ellis said regarding the Lindo family.
“I am feeling extra awesome about everything here because I am not the only parent that has benefited from this function, and I know other parents are really appreciative of this small token,” she added.
Explaining his family’s annual outreach activities for Salt Spring Primary, John Lindo said that he and Morris felt moved to give back to the institution because of the kindness they experienced from the school’s administrators when they were children, during a time when they grew up poor.
CHILDHOOD MEMORY
“I remember when we used to go to school, we could not buy lunch like everybody else. Morris was the bigger brother, and he was the one with whom my father would give a note to ‘trust’ food from the canteen. But because we did not have lunch money we had to wait until everybody ate and then we would get our food. But we always got our food,” Lindo recalled.
“We are happy we could give back to Salt Spring school. Because of COVID-19, the Montego Bay Jerk Festival was not kept for a couple years, and we came back last year but we were not able to give anything,” Lindo added. “But we have been giving back to individuals who asked for help, and we want to be thankful that God has been good to us so that we can give back to the school.”
Meanwhile, Salt Spring Primary’s principal Norma Brydson described the Lindos’ outreach to the school as an example of good deeds being repaid in kind over the long term.
“We feel ecstatic, we are blessed and lucky and happy to be recipients. My parents are appreciative, and this bursary from Montego Bay Jerk Fest is making life easier for my parents and my children at large. This makes me understand more about the concept of ‘paying it forward’,” said Brydson.
“John and Morris had told me the story before, where the school’s headmaster in their time saw that they would receive nutritious meals then, and that is still the bedrock principle of our school of which I am leader, where no child goes hungry at our school. They paid it forward, and I just hope others will come along and join them in that effort,” Brydson continued.