September 2017 Commencement Ceremony for the new school year

Date: 12 Dec, 2017 No Comments

September 1st, Monday morning, We gathered at the community church for commencement. Many people spoke to the students and the teachers that day including myself. One of the speakers, I think it was the Minister of Education for the Parish, told a story about the recent history of the school. Apparently, the school was on a closing list due to its state of disrepair. He proudly stated that now the school was in top shape and is making the best test scores in the entire Parish. I like to think we had a lot to do with that! From the beginning, we have completely refitted the kitchen. The cook was preparing meals for 500 people with two burners, no oven, nothing else. We purchased a 5 burner commercial gas cook line, refurbished to old stove, fixed the oven, got an industrial rice cooker, new pots and pans, utensils, reach in freezer, paint, even chef clogs for the cook whose name is Steve! Later trips included a complete renovation of the bathrooms. That doors had padlocks on them when we first arrived because their condition was actually unsafe for the children. The school had no usable bathrooms! Can you imagine The girls suffered from urinary tract infections because they held their bladder and the boys would just pee behind the buildings on the school yard. So sad. New bathrooms for girls and boys with proper running water, lighting, new toilets, tiled walls and fresh pant, even a shower for each. We have delivered sports equipment for recess, teaching supplies for teachers and books for the new library. This last trip we delivered a loudspeaker system so the principal can make her announcements heard as well as a complex system of signal boosters and repeaters to allow the internet to be delivered to each classroom.

Following the ceremony, we all walked down the street to the school. We were towing two large suitcases full of supplies! It was quite a scene, all of us walking down the street as if it were a parade! Locals line the street watching the commotion.

We are pleased to say that it is time to find another school to help. We did go to a school about 15 minutes up the hill in the town of Clarkstown. I am pleased to say that the school was in very good shape and doesn’t need our help. The Minister of Education assured us that there were many many schools with big needs. I expressed my concerns to the Principal of our first school, Mrs. Gelzine. She promised me that she would take us to a school that would fit our needed requirements during our next trip in December! Time to fund raise our next adventure…

Looking forward to start our next adventure!