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Author Topic: TriniInfinite..is this happening in T&T also..I asking cuz me eh know.  (Read 967 times)

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At last, school shoes!
Now Duckenfield Primary students can walk to school with pride
BY INGRID BROWN Sunday Observer staff reporter
Sunday, October 22, 2006
 


The contrast could not be more stark. At a time when many children are being showered with the latest in video games and varied electronic gadgets, others - students at Duckenfield Primary School in deep rural St Thomas - still walk barefoot for miles to and from school, and, in some cases, wearing only rubber 'flip-flops' because their parents are unable to buy them school shoes.

But last Thursday, Christmas came early for 78 of these children whose eyes sparkled like brightly lit Christmas trees when they were each presented with a brand new pair of school shoes from members of the Canadian Diaspora who were responding to a request from Hands Across Jamaica For Righteousness.


Two students eagerly search the box of shoes to find a perfect fit to replace the 'flip-flops' they are forced to wear to school. (Photos: Garfield Robinson)

"Miss, me glad fe see the shoes dem come, because a lot of children at the school have shoes which are squeezing them and some of them shoes bottom tear off," one little girl told the Sunday Observer, as they rummaged through the boxes.
Pointing to her own shoes, which were splitting in the back, she said she too needed a pair as water seeps into the one she was wearing when it rains.

"When water get in me shoes me have to go home and use the cloth and squeeze it and then me put it out in the sun for it to dry to wear to school the next time," she said. "If me get a new pair of shoes, every night me woulda polish it like how me do this one."

Her expectation, however, was not met, as unfortunately there were not enough shoes to meet all the needs. Therefore, priority was given to children who had no shoes at all or who were wearing 'flip flops'.
The members of the Canadian and United States Diaspora, as well as members of the Kiwanis Club of Central St Andrew who journeyed out to the school were dumbfounded to see for themselves that there are still children going to school without shoes.

Joan Welsh, principal of the school, pointed out to them that a large percentage of the school population either do not have any shoes, wear slippers or shoes that do not meet the school's requirement, simply because of their parents' economic circumstances.


Claudette Cameron-Stewart assists this young boy in fitting a new pair of school shoes, replacing the rubber slippers he wore to school.
A lot of the parents, said Welsh, rely heavily on the St Thomas Sugar Company and Eastern Banana for employment. But both firms have suffered some amount of setback since Hurricane Ivan two years ago.
"The socio-economic situation around here is that they depend mainly on these two companies," said Welsh, "and because of Ivan, some of them didn't return to work. So they find it very difficult financially."

She said she was only too happy when founder of Hands Across Jamaica for Righteousness, Yvonne Coke, offered to source some shoes for the children, during a visit to the school earlier this year.
"They were here to give a little talk to the children and Mrs Coke had asked what was one of our needs, and I did express to her that we had children coming to school barefoot and some wearing slippers," said Welsh.

She explained that at times the parents were unable to provide the children with lunch. But this has since been picked up by the school which stages fund-raising events and engages in a "lot of begging" to meet some of these needs.
"From time-to-time we may have a few past students who will give a little assistance, and then we beg here and beg there," said the principal.

She pointed out that some of the parents were also unable to provide a meal for the children before they leave home in the mornings for school. "Because of this, we have to have a breakfast. and we also use the nutrition programme of bun and milk to supplement the lunch," she said.

With a good 90 per cent of the 700 children enrolled at the school not having the proper school shoes or any shoes at all, it makes it difficult for the school rules to be enforced, the principal said.
"A number of people will ask what is the footwear for the school and I say it is really black shoes and blue socks, but we are unable to enforce it because the parents just don't have it," said Welsh.

She further explained that some parents will give to the school shoes and clothing which their children have outgrown. These, in turn, are distributed to other students based on need.

Last week, after the shoes were presented to the school, one 11 year-old boy, wearing a pair of rubber sandals which were about two sizes smaller than his feet, was invited to take a pair of shoes from the box. He hastily picked a strong black pair which he immediately hugged to his chest.

He then raced towards his classroom to stash the new shoes in his school bag. When he was instructed to try them on to ensure they fit, he did so reluctantly, apparently fearing that if they didn't fit he would lose out on getting a brand new pair of shoes.
He said his mother, who is a domestic helper and a single parent, was unable to replace his shoes when the bottom fell off months ago.

Asked about the rubber slippers he was wearing, he hung his head in embarrassment as he said; "Me father friend carry it from foreign and gave it to me, but it is getting too small for me."

His demeanour, however, changed shortly after he fitted the shoes and discovered they were perfect. "I am happy to get the shoes and ah going to take the best care of them," he said with a smile as he hugged the shoes even closer to his chest. "I am going to put it into my bag until ah go home."

The reactions of the other children to the gifts were similar. One boy said his shoes were burning him and he had no other. The principal, who had sent back a child to his classroom thinking his need was not as severe as some of the other students, was appalled when she saw the sole of his shoes. He was almost walking on the ground because of how worn the shoes were.

"And to think that I sent him back to his classroom," the principal said. "I would have felt so bad today if he didn't get a pair."
While other children eagerly searched for a pair of shoes, the principal remembered two sisters whose names she said were at the top of the request list. "I have to make sure they get a pair because their situation is really bad," she said, even as she hurriedly sent other students to get the sisters from their classrooms.

One nine-year-old girl, who was wearing a pair of 'flip-flops' which was about to give way, had her mind set upon a pair of soft, comfy leather school shoes.
She seemed prepared to do whatever it would take for the shoes to fit her. Forcing her feet inside, she told the team that it was a perfect fit. Fortunately for her, she was right.

She told the Sunday Observer that she was glad for the gift as she always wished she had some shoes when she saw other children dressed in shoes and socks for school. She said there was a time when she had a pair of shoes which she cherished, but now the sole was gone.

"When me a walk go home the shoes bottom just tek time and pop off because a glue it did glue," she said, adding that she has been wearing her slippers since school reopened in September. She said she has another pair of shoes which she is not allowed to wear to school. "That is me going out shoes," she said firmly. "Ah happy ah get this shoes and I am going to take care of it."

Her mother, she explained, had lost her job on the banana farm.
Claudette Cameron-Stewart, a member of the Diaspora in Canada, and the person who took the shoes to Jamaica, said she was overwhelmed.

"To see for myself that the need does exist is huge, particularly because the shoes themselves never came from me," said Cameron-Stewart. "I brought them to Jamaica, but they were bought by very big-hearted Jamaicans in Canada."
She emphasised that it took less than a week after the request was made for persons to buy the 78 pairs of shoes.
Cameron-Stewart explained that she received an e-mail from Hands Across Jamaica's Coke requesting her help in soliciting the shoes.

"She said that some other persons had promised Duckenfield Primary some shoes and that nobody had come through and that she knew it was a big task and asked me to try," Cameron-Stewart recalled.

She said the request was made through the Alliance of Alumni Association, the umbrella group for all smaller associations.
Almost immediately, she said members of the Wolmer's, Merl Grove, Glenmuir and Holmwood past students associations responded favourably. Also, she said, overwhelming response came from the Diaspora in the town of Hamilton, from where some members of the association drove to other towns to source the shoes. "People would drop off the shoes at my house," she said. "I went to pick up some. They would call to say I am in the store, are you sure this is the size because I forgot the list at home."

A total of 82 pairs of shoes were requested. However, Cameron-Stewart said they fell short by four pairs. "I am hoping that someone else will provide those four pairs," she added.

Cameron-Stewart said the only concern expressed was that the donors of the shoes wanted to be sure that the children who had a real need were the ones getting them. However, she said this concern was immediately erased when persons were told that they were going to Hands Across Jamaica.

But Cameron-Stewart said that although she was told about the need, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she got here.
"I am pleased to see that the children have actually found shoes that fit them and that they love them," she said and extended her personal thanks to the Jamaicans who had so selflessly reached out to meet the need.

"These are some very good shoes - shoes that our own children would wear, and so we didn't just go and pick them up from anywhere," she said.
According to Cameron-Stewart, the 42 active alumni associations within the Alliance have always contributed to various projects in Jamaica, such as schools, health centres, hospitals and projects in specific communities.

"People come and see you give out but they don't understand that it is hard work getting the stuff together," she said. "But we can always go back to the Bible for comfort and Jesus will ask us what have we done for the least of these, and this is what Canada has done."

Antonette Smith, president of the Kiwanis Club of Central St Andrew, who accompanied the team to St Thomas and who had stopped at the Morant Bay Infirmary to fete the patients, said she too was overwhelmed by the needs she saw.

"It is a good feeling just to see the smiles on the children's faces because I never really knew that here in Jamaica there are children who are going to school without shoes, she said.
Her club, she said, was committed to projects which involve children, in keeping with their motto 'Serving the Children of the World'.

Smith said her Kiwanis chapter, which is only a year old, has a feeding programme twice per month for street children in Half-Way-Tree and once per week in the Red Hills Road area.

browni@jamaicaobserver.com

 

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