Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter
Dr Omar Davies (left), member of Parliament for South St Andrew, Millicent Brown, senior teacher at Trench Town Primary, and Scarlette Gillings, managing director of Jamaica Social Investment Fund, carry out their Labour Day activities. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) on Friday, May 23, sowed seeds of hope for children at the Trench Town Primary School, in Kingston, under the Labour Day theme, 'Eat what we grow, grow what we eat'.
A team from the JSIF planted 15 beds of cash crops to support the school's feeding programme as part of its Labour Day project.
The seeds included tomato, sweet pepper, cabbage and pak choi, which were sown in an enclosed area at the back of the school.
The JSIF employees also planted cassava, banana, apple and ackee trees.
The crops are expected to be ready in six to eight weeks, while the trees should start bearing fruits in another three years.
Not enough
Merline Sewell-Sullivan, principal of the Trench Town Primary School, said the Ministry of Education's bun and milk programme was inadequate to provide meals for all the children, some of whom often attended class hungry.
She disclosed that more than seven years ago, the school sought help from corporate Jamaica and got assistance from the Port Authority of Jamaica to provide a cooked meal for the 210 students on roll.
But with the rising food prices, it is sometimes difficult to buy all the necessary ingredients.
"It is just for us to sustain the project. We have seeds in store, so we can reap and replenish," said Sewell-Sullivan.
Guidance counsellor at the school, Vivia Mothersill, told The Gleaner that the school-feeding programme had resulted in improved attendance and participation of students in school activities.
Dunstan Bryan, social develop-ment manager at the JSIF, said the project was a part of the inner-city basic services programme. Twelve communities, including Trench Town, are a part of this project.
petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com
