Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

Parents of the 2,000 children in the St. James infant public school system can now breathe a collective sigh of relief following the commitment of the newly-incor-porated Palmyra Foundation to provide $4.4 million worth of textbooks for the children come September.

"Every child has a success story as long as they have the basic tools," said Kathi Constanzo, Palmyra Foundation (TPF) chairperson. "In speaking with numerous principals, on average under 50 per cent of infant age children come to school without all of their textbooks, and in rural areas it can be as high as 100 per cent."

She added: "Most can only afford one or two, possibly three books for the entire school year... because of this the illiteracy rate is a major problem. The Palmyra Foundation is dedicated to providing children in Jamaica with their textbooks to attain proper education."

Overjoyed

The non-profit organisation announced its intentions during its launch at its offices in Rose Hall, Montego Bay, St. James on Tuesday.

Principal of the Providenc Infant School in St. James, Monica Hinds, was overjoyed by the donations.

"Knowing that each child will have their own book especially their own reading book is good because they read everyday," Ms. Hinds said. "It will reduce frustration, boost teacher morale and increase the confidence in the children. This is a great plus in reducing the illiteracy rate and I hope they will keep it up."

To date, the foundation has raised just over $2 million with a guarantee from the Palmyra Resort and Spa to cover the entire amount if the foundation has not reached its target in time for the September school year.

claudine.housen@gleanerjm.com