They moved the audience to tears. Montego Bay Infant School students (from left) Je-Vaun Cameron, Chaddese Willaims and David Williams perform a soulful rendition of Bob Marley's 'Rastaman Chant'. - Photo by Claudine Housen/Staff Photographer

Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

"I believe the children are our are

future,

Teach them well and let them lead

the way.

Show them all the beauty they

possess inside

Give them a sense of pride ..."

- Whitney Houston

In the fast-paced world where time equals money, it is refreshing to know that Montego Bay's business community can take a couple of hours to show their support for a worthy cause. In Jamaica, where the level of illiteracy is skyrocketing, there is not greater cause than education.

And so, white cotton ensembles met the pin-striped suits under a tent overlooking the sea at The Palmyra Foundation in Rose Hall, Montego Bay, on June 26.

The event, which saw the launch of the newly incorporated non-profit organisation and its bold pledge to provide 2,000 school books to infant school children in St. James, was so well attended that soon after commencement there was standing room only.

So touched was foundation's chairperson, Mrs. Kathi Constanzo, that her voice broke when she spoke of the foundation's mandate.

"Every child has a success story," she said. "We feel strongly about giving back to our community from the beginning. We want our fellow Jamaican's to know that we really and truly care. Our care and concern is genuine."

Guest speaker for the occasion, Minister of Education Maxine Henry-Wilson, hailed the foundation as a good example of the linkages between private and public sectors that the Government is trying to build and maintain.

"This is a red letter day for us in St. James," said an equally appreciative Edmund Bartlett, the Member of Parliament for East Central St. James.

True benefactors

A happy mother of two. The Palmyra Foundation chairperson, Mrs. Kathi Constanzo, with her daughter Alex, as she listens to the performances during the launch of TPF in Montego Bay on Tuesday.

The true benefactors of the event were the children. The recipients of the $4.4 million pledge, the students of the Montego Bay Infant School, showed guests, "children are indeed our future."

The group of approximately 15 children, which formed the entertainment package for the event, wowed the audience with their performance of Joan Andrea Hutchinson's 'Today a Teachers' Day'. So refreshing was their presentation that the audience dug into their pockets and paid for an encore - one patron was so impressed she cried - raising money equivalent to the cost of 10 school books in that single performance.

Left: "If it kill we, we a go behave wiself just for Teachers' Day." Members of the Montego Bay Infant School speaking choral, from left: Brytanny Hamilton, Kaycia Cooper, Fiona Clarke and Alexia Campbell punctuate the air with their arm as they pledge their best behaviour during their performance of Joan Andrea Hutchinson's 'Today A Teachers' Day' at the launch of The Palmyra Foundation on Tuesday.Right: Montego Bay Infant School's Tahj Bowen (left) ties the shoelaces of schoolmate John Michael Waite-Maxwell moments before the commencement of the launch of The Palmyra Foundation.