A giving heart

Chester Francis-Jackson, Contributor

Dears, the old saying that those who look for faults will find nothing else has divided the country into two Jamaicas. On one hand, there are those who complain incessantly about what they see wrong with this country, and then there are those who actively engage to influence in a positive mode a change in the cycle of under-performing people and institutions.

For those in the category of change-makers, it's not about what the country can do for them, but what they can do for this country!

And so, inspired and motivated to move this country and its people forward, instead of sitting around and bemoaning what many say is the parlous state of the nation and using it as an excuse to do nothing, many change-makers have been stepping up and meeting the challenges of righting the disproportionate access to education and the tools of education by providing help to our most vulnerable children of Jamaica.

This comes at a particularly crucial juncture as there's no denying the financial squeeze and its effects on our nation. But in recent weeks, many corporate entities have been busy giving back to their communities in a bid to alleviate the genuine hardships experienced by many, as they try to fulfil their obligations to family in their 'back to school' endeavours.

One such organisation is the Palmyra Foundation. The non-profit charity is registered in Jamaica, with a mandate to increase access to education and educational opportunities for Jamaicans.

Under the slogan 'The future is bright, when you can read and write!' the foundation is dedicated to providing books to four- and five-year-old pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children in public infant schools across Jamaica. Since it began in 2007, more than 100 international volunteers have helped provide more than 110,000 books to 30,000 children in more than 88 schools across the island's 14 parishes.

The foundation achieves this under an initiative dubbed: 'Books4Kids Jamaica'.

The foundation began its 2013 distribution of 10,000 books, crayons and pencils to an expected 5,500 children last Monday, at the Port Antonio Infant School. The Montego Bay-based charity continued its trek to approximately 50 schools in towns, mountains, and deep-rural communities islandwide.

For its Port Antonio roll-out, each of the 200 children received a bag containing a colourful 300-page BrainQuest Workbook, one Scholastic Reading book, a pack of crayons, and a pencil, on their first day of school.

Partners in this educational endeavour included: CVM Television, who as sponsor and supporter of the programme helped raise most of the funds towards this year's initiative through a live national broadcast of the charity's 2013 Online Charity Auction.

The distribution continued to Redwood, St Catherine, where Palmyra Foundation Ambassador Allison Roach handed out books to the children at her alma mater.

Roach, a long-term sponsor of the Palmyra Foundation's Books4Kids programme, is the New York-based CEO of The Allison Roach Group, and is passionate about early-childhood education in her country and home town. Other sponsors included The Gleaner Company, Jamaica Tours Ltd, Seaboard & Freight Jamaica Ltd, Delta Airlines, Frame by Frame, Barry Segal, Billy Craig Insurance, Crestone Capital Advisors, Dr Glenn Tyler, Keith Thorpe Ltd, Resort Condominiums International, the Usain Bolt Foundation, Landmark Associates, and Resort Properties Jamaica.

With the consignment of books shipped to Jamaica, courtesy of Seaboard & Freight Jamaica Ltd, local transportation company Jamaica Tours Limited is providing its services for the sixth consecutive year. The foundation is grateful to all who are helping to make the dreams of many young Jamaican a reality by their participation in the very noteworthy cause!

With more and more Jamaicans and organisations stepping forward and extending a helping hand, the future of our young looks that much more promising, and for this, we salute those who do instead of talk!

Contributed Photos