New Digital Library for Young People in Rose Gardens

Young people living in Rose Gardens and neighbouring communities in Central Kingston now have access to a digital library housed in the Audrey V. Sewell Library and Reading Room.

The facility is based in a new classroom block at New Hope Preparatory School, named in honour of late First Elder of the North Street Seventh-day Adventist Church, Norris A. Crooks, who was a dedicated supporter of education in the communities.

Children, seven to 12 years, will be the main beneficiaries, through a revamped homework programme spearheaded by the church’s Education Department, which has been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result of efforts by Mrs. Sewell, among other persons, the school’s infrastructure was expanded to include a new block comprising three classrooms, the digital library, the reading room, and a counselling centre.

“This is an important church that continues to impact the lives of the many Jamaicans that reside in this community. It is this service and generosity that will greatly assist the students of New Hope to achieve some of the major goals in their lives,” Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, said while addressing the facility’s recent opening.

She said it was her wish that the church continue to grow in its service, fellowship, its commitment and dedication in serving the nation’s young children through education.

“The expanded resources to facilitate these children in the new classrooms, library and reading rooms will, no doubt, stretch your creativity and resourcefulness and, ultimately, will benefit our children. The guidance counselling room will be a place of refuge and privacy for all the students who will need this important service.,” the Minister said.

Mrs. Williams noted that the naming of the new block in honour of Mrs. Sewell and Mr. Crooks, “are fitting tributes for their dedicated service”.

She said Mr. Crooks, who served the church as First Elder for over 40 years, was instrumental in keeping New Hope Preparatory School open by utilising his personal resources, despite recommendations that the institution be closed due to financial challenges.

“Both Elders [Mr. Crooks and Mrs. Sewell] believe that all things are truly possible, once Christ is in the midst,” Mrs. Williams said.

The school’s Chairman, Duane Muirhead, told JIS News that Mrs. Sewell was instrumental in building the block, and giving of her resources to generate funds for the cause.

The school, which is in its 125th year of existence, is the oldest Adventist educational institution in Jamaica.

For Principal Joette Jumpp, the development is great for the students, as the library will facilitate learning and exploration where “they can find information at the tips of their fingers. The digital library will enhance their learning, research, and help them to excel”.

The Digicel Foundation provided $1 million to equip the library. Social Development Consultant with the Foundation, Miguel “Steppa” Williams, said the contribution was in support of education, and to bridge the digital divide across communities.

He noted that the area is “high risk”, has greater needs and they are “helping to create a world where no one is left behind”.

Describing this honour as a privilege to be recognised with someone who had a vision and persevered with it, Mrs. Sewell said she was inspired by Mr. Crooks to contribute to the community through the church, while expressing joy that residents of the Central Kingston communities now have access to first-class facilities.

“They deserve no less. I played my role, and I am thankful that the many donors responded positively. Their kindness will add to our continued efforts to impact lives for the better, and to ensure that the children of these communities get the best education and skills, for the good of our beloved nation,” Mrs. Sewell, who is also Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, told JIS News.

She noted that while the reading room is named in her honour, and she appreciates the gesture, “my greatest delight is the equipment that the children are now accessing to enhance their development”.

“It is a digital library and is exposing our people to possibilities. I encourage them to make the best of what is being offered,” she says.

Mr. Crooks’ daughter, Nicole Crooks McDonald, said her father was deeply committed to education for all and spent much of his time giving extra lessons to community members.

She said naming the building after him was a “perfect way to honour him” and everything that he stood for – “young people, service to man, to the church, service to the community and to Jamaica”.

President of the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Dr. Meric Walker, pointed out that Mr. Crooks used his own resources to build the school, noting that this spurred additional efforts of continued work, adding further that the reading room is “essential to education”.

He also thanked Mrs. Sewell for her motivation to contribute to community development.

“There must be, in every community, a similar sacrifice, a similar spirit of going the extra mile to adopt a school, a child, and to use their resources and influence to intervene and make a difference in education,” Dr. Walker stated.