SCHOOL PROJECTS
Jamaica YES asked each school for a list of projects, outside of the breakfast program, that they are in need of. Projects and costs vary for each school, with funds provided by private designated contributions from individuals and/or businesses. No funds from Jamaica YES are utilized unless specifically designated by the donor. Project funding is determined by the donor, not by Jamaica YES, and only those designated funds will be utilized. Below are listed each school’s response to our request.
If you or your company are interested in making an impact by donating towards one or more of the projects, please send us an email.
Baxters Mountain Primary – St Mary Parish
“At present there are two very pressing needs that I would like to bring to your attention:
“1. Perimeter fencing of the school premises – Baxters Mountain is a small multi grade school located in a deep rural area of St. Mary. The school population consists of 65 students, 4 female teachers, 1 female principal and 2 female support staff in the capacity of a cook and a janitor. I have made specific mention of the gender of the staff because as females, we are less
likely to protect ourselves should an intruder invade our school. In recent times we have learned of a situation where a principal was chopped by an intruder on a school compound. The stories of young children being, missing, molested and abused in Jamaica are numerous and as an administrator, I am deeply concerned about the safety and security of the staff
members and these precious little ones. We have made numerous appeals to the Ministry of Education for assistance with perimeter fencing or at least a security guard but our request has fallen on deaf ears. We would be so grateful if we could be assisted in this regard, where the gate could be closed during school hours to keep our staff and students safe while we strive to
give our best and provide our students with every possibility to excel.”
“2. Recreational area for physical activities for students – The importance of physical activities in schools cannot be overemphasized as this improves the learning aptitude of students and provides students with the ability and confidence to be physically active for a lifetime. Our students at Baxters Mountain are often forgotten and are deprived of the opportunity to
participate and compete in physical activities as our school is without the resources a play space needed to prepare them. The school has adequate land space to facilitate a playfield and a multi-purpose court where students could participate in various sporting activities. Our students are eager to learn about netball, volleyball and football and other activities but we are
restricted by the lack of a proper play area to accommodate them. We crave any assistance we can get to give these students this well needed opportunity to participate and compete with neighboring schools, to build their confidence and self esteem.”
“I will try to see how soon I can have someone do an estimate for the above mentioned projects.”
3. Library/Computer Room Space. “The school has another pressing need at this time and it would be easier to get a costing for this project. We have a small library space that is in dire need of 4 or 5 computers and a printer that students will use for research and teachers will use to enhance the teaching and learning process. The students are performing way below their grade level due to the learning loss suffered during the Covid pandemic. Our school is without any kind of technological resources necessary to boost the teaching and learning process. We would be so appreciative if this need could be filled as our small school in deep rural St Mary is under funded and often forgotten by Ministry personnel. These computers will greatly enrich the lives of these 60 students.”
Cost for 5 HP Notebooks and 1 Printer is US$5,000.
4.Vegetable Garden. “Ensuring the well-being and nutritional needs of our students is a top priority for us, and we have been running a farm-to-school program to provide nutritious meals using locally sourced ingredients.”
“We are seeking your assistance in acquiring essential farm tools and resources. These tools will not only help us maintain our existing agricultural activities but also expand our capacity to grow a wider variety of produce. By producing our own fruits and vegetables, we aim to reduce the cost of providing cooked meals for our students while promoting healthy eating habits.”
“We kindly request assistance to procure the following items:
Garden Hoes – Garden Forks – Spray Pans – Water Pump
Vegetable seeds – pak choi, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, melon
Seedlings – pak choi, cabbage, tomatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, melon
Fertilizers and Insecticides
“With your support, we believe that we can significantly reduce our operational costs while simultaneously providing our students with nutritious meals made from fresh, locally sourced ingredients.”
Belfield Primary – St Mary Parish
UPDATED: Computer room funded and completed. Computer Room with desktops for use by students and the community.
Remaining needs: whiteboard, printer, storage shelves for printer paper and other supplies for computer room.
Berry Hill Primary and Infant School – St Catherine Parish
Playground equipment for the PreK area; updated computer room along with new computers and tablets; fencing of school compound “…for students’ safety and protection and keeping out regular disturbances from community persons and animals traversing through the school yard.”; Resource and Manipulatives for the different subject areas ($TBD) “Mathematics…fractions bars, Base blocks geo-boards, Language Arts…Magnetic Letters, CDs with learning games, audio and visual read-along books, and Interactive learning in reading, Science…interactive model of the human body, Magnets, Social Studies…Globes, Maps, landforms, volcano) etc.”
Clifford Basic – St Mary Parish
“Our main need is to get a lunch room for the children to eat as they have to be eating in the classrooms and it poses a challenge for us at times or some zinc to renovate the verandah as it leaks when it is raining.
Cost US$4,500.”
Ewarton Basic – St Catherine Parish
UPDATE: Project is currently in progress. “The Board of Management of the Ewarton Basic School will be undertaking a refurbishing and roof slabbing project at the Institution. As an Institution we aware of the importance of operating in a safe and secure environment. Having inspected the physical surroundings, an urgent need for the project to be undertaken became a necessity. The roofing section of our rest rooms and canteen facilities are in urgent need of repairs due to termite infestation, causing the entire roof to be compromised and unsafe as we operate on a daily basis. It is also our intention to complete the unfinished lunch/multi-purpose section of building started by the former principal. This is a necessity as the number of students are increasing rapidly, hence the need for more space.”
Additional Project: Funding for addition of bathroom off of multipurpose room.
Frankfield Primary and Infant School – Manchester Parish
Reliable transportation as Ministry of Education is 6 months late in paying drivers to take school children to and from school; greenhouse side panels are in need of repair/replacement; freezer replacement as door is broke.
Elim ECDC (Early Childhood Development Center) – St Catherine Parish
“The project and costing was sent sometime last year regarding the renovating of the school kitchen where the students meals are prepared and storing of the food supply (Cupboards) as well.”
“The upgrading/renovating of the canteen is of a greater need as the kitchen speaks to the nutritional aspect of the students, safety from food borne diseases and other communicable disease. So that is our crucial project need right now as we speak.”
“The cupboards are in a deplorable state due to water leakage from the pipe.in the kitchen…we manage to fix the leakage but the boards under the cupboard rot.”
“We are in dire need of a freezer, repair of our cupboards, some pots for the meal preparation, a pressure cooker as well as storage spaces to store snacks for our 115 students we now have.”
Cost $13,000.
Jeffrey Town Basic – St Mary Parish
They are currently in need of funds to “…complete a three part project as part of the requirements by the Early Childhood Commission in order to receive a certificate. This means the institution has achieved one hundred percent of the legal requirements to operate based on the standards set. Acquiring certification is proof that the institution is efficiently run and have met the health and developmental needs of children.
1. The construction of a shaded area for students for shelter from sun at outdoor play 2. Resurfacing of the play area thus creating a safe place for play 3. We need to complete a tank stand and install tank for storage of additional water.” The estimated cost for the school’s proposed projects total approximately US$1,500.
Jubilee Town Primary – St Catherine Parish
We would like to refurbish the Principal’s office and the staff room. To undertake this project we would need: two standing cupboards (metal), one teacher’s table and chair, a radio, one board cupboard, two folding chairs, one coffee table and a small sofa.
We would like to construct an Affirmation Garden and redo our Murals. The materials we will need for this project are – Board, nails, cement, sand, gravel, steel and paints.
UPDATE: Funded and completed. Industrial Stove ($2,355) “The present one burns black as a chimney and this causes extra spending on gas, which increases with each purchase.”
UPDATE: Funded and completed. Tablets ($TBD) Smart TV ($TBD) “To project the lessons and activities that are streamed from the Ministry of Education”
Lindstead Primary – St Catherine Parish
School supplies for students ($TBD) “There are several students who need the assistance with school supplies and lunch. These supplies include daily lunch, stationaries supplies (notebook & textbook, etc), uniform, shoes, technology items (tablets). The most needy students are sometimes not on the PATH (Program of Advancement through Health and Education) Program but are never absent from school. Assistance is often given to these students by teachers and occasionally by other donors within close proximity.”
UPDATE: Funded and completed. Freezer/Refrigerator ($TBD) “Over the past year, the school has been operating without a functional freezer. This is used to store perishable items that are part of the breakfast program and also items for the canteen/tuck-shop. The existing freezer stopped working during the 2019-2020 school year due to age, and a refrigerator that was being used, in the interim, no longer works and had various parts falling apart, including the door. The impact of the absence of this necessary equipment is that perishable items have to be purchased daily increasing the cost to provide meals for students.”
UPDATE: Funded and completed. Printer ($TBD) “The pandemic has created multiple challenges and disruption in the education system. As a result, most students especially those who are needy have been absent from school for an extended period of time and are often not able to attend the online classes due to the unavailability of technology devices or lack of internet connectivity. The skills of these students (especially penmanship and reading) are not developed and require the intervention of the teachers. The teachers have been using worksheets to supplement the teaching learning process. The cost to prepare and provide these worksheets is borne by the teachers. In order to relieve the teachers of this expense, it is necessary to make a printer available to the teachers. The absence of printers also affect the administrative process. When documents need to be printed (i.e. exam papers, worksheets, reports) the school incurs a cost as commercial operators must be utilized. The school therefore requires either one industrial printer to serve the school’s population or separate printers for administration, lower school and upper school.”
Nutshell Basic – St Catherine Parish New school to the program, updates forthcoming.
Rose Hall Primary – St Elizabeth Parish
Playground ($TBD) “Purchase materials to build a playground as well as purchase and install items such as: slides, swings, monkey bars, sand pits etc. We are well aware that children learn through play. Our little ones have to play inside the classrooms
which is restricting them to explore and learn as much as they should. Therefore, it is imperative for the Infant Department to get a play area as soon as possible so the students can engage in physical activities which will assist in the development of the different motor skills, as well as, to socialize and play.”
Resource Centre ($TBD) “Retrofit an old library into a Resource Centre, getting new computers, printer and a multimedia projector. Students will be able to use it to complete their assignments, especially the students without devices. This will enhance learning greatly.
Signage/Murals ($TBD) “It’s important to have a print rich environment, also an environment that is safe and secure for children. Signs/murals will enhance learning as we would make them fun and engaging for students at the different grade levels (Painting the time table on the wall, highlighting aspects of our heritage, painting hopscotch on the floor etc.) will impact the students in a positive way.”
Victoria Town Primary – Manchester Parish
We are in need of utensils, storage bins, large mixing bowls, and sealable containers for the kitchen. We use these for preparing and storing food for the children.