Eating well and staying hydrated was the theme at St. Mary’s Primary School on Friday. The Hydrate Caribbean team from Newport Water, alongside sponsor, Farmer’s Choice, unveiled the latest Hydration Station at the school. The institution joins 15 other schools in Barbados who have access to free, purified water.

Principal, Ms. Grace Wickham, was extremely grateful for the donation. She explained that many schools currently lack cold, refreshing water, and without sponsorships through companies like Farmer’s Choice, schools simply cannot afford to obtain water coolers on their own.

“We are so excited here at St. Mary’s Primary School… grateful and thankful to Newport, Hydrate Caribbean and our sponsor HIPAC [Farmer’s Choice] for giving us this much needed water cooler here at the school. When I was approached about it, I sent up some praises, because it is an expensive undertaking and we don’t have the funds in schools, only if we are sponsored”.

“For the children, it will be welcomed relief. Usually, they just get room temperature water – but now they’ll get cold water to quench their thirsts, especially on the playing field and during lunchtime and break time. Some of them have been given bottles so that they can fill their bottles as they usually do, and take them to [their] classrooms and sip on their water during the day,” the St. Mary’s Principal added.

“And I would encourage other sponsors to not only give us a second machine, but to extend it to schools that do not have sponsors as yet. It is a very delightful undertaking.”

Class 4 student, Zahir Best, echoed these sentiments. “I love water; I like drinking water. We love this station because no one likes drinking from the tap, and this will help in our school to provide water for us.”

As the students and staff gathered in the school hall to learn about their new water station, Jay Belmar, PR and Marketing Executive at Newport Water, encouraged them to fill up their water bottles regularly.

“Staying hydrated is essential for both physical health and mental performance,” Belmar explained. “When students drink water, it helps them to focus, concentrate, and perform better in school.”

The installation of the new Hydration Station at the St. Mary’s Primary School is part of a larger movement to create more sustainable and health-conscious learning environments across the island.

Kitisheanna Williams, Marketing Coordinator at HIPAC, highlighted why they chose to partner with Hydrate Caribbean to aid this mission.

“We are very proud of this initiative, because it is an effort to give back to the kids, and as outside gets hotter and hotter we do want them to stay healthy, to stay hydrated and to keep as cool as possible while they learn and play.

“At HIPAC, we are very involved in the community. We always want to be [involved with] the kids. Kids are our future, as Jay would have said, so we want to make sure we are doing our part to help the next generation.”

Finishing off her address to the students, William added, “At Farmer’s Choice, we know how important it is to eat well and stay hydrated, which means drinking plenty of water and eating the right foods.”