Island Villas donates equipment to help vulnerable and disadvantaged students
“We’re all in this together.” This was the message promoted by local real estate company, Island Villas, as they presented the Principal and teachers of the Daryll Jordan Secondary School with a donation of computer equipment, desks and chairs earlier this week. The donation is being used to help children at the school as well as at Sterling Children’s Home and the Marina Brewster Centre at Farrs.
With the Covid-19 pandemic causing major disruption to the education sector and close to half a million students across the Eastern Caribbean affected by school closures, students and teachers have had to adapt to new online tools and digital learning. Speaking at the presentation, Jamaal Reifer, P.E Head at the Daryll Jordan Secondary School, highlighted the plight of those children that do not have access to the resources needed for learning out of the classroom, “We have kids that are trying to do work on the step because there is no desk or table for them to work on.”
Left to Right: Richard Eames, Managing Director Island Villas; Noland Burnett, Head of Technical Department, Daryll Jordan Secondary School; Stephen Jackman, Principal, Daryll Jordan Secondary School; Christine Richards, General Manager Island Villas
Echoing these statements, Stephen Jackman, Principal of the Daryll Jordan Secondary School, expressed his gratitude for the donation, “What we have been trying to do alongside the Ministry and with private assistance is to get devices and furniture to children and families that desperately need it. The reality is that we do not know how long school will be disrupted and we are trying to make sure that as many children as possible have the opportunity to participate.”
With further reopening of the island, Richard Eames, Managing Director of Island Villas, praised the efforts of Jackman and his team, “During this period of uncertainty it has been heartwarming to see the resilient community spirit across the island. We are all adapting to a new way of working and it is important that the most vulnerable in society do not get left behind. As a local business we are proud to be able to contribute in some small way to this effort.”
