St. James Institutions Receive $410,000 in Grants

The Kingston Restoration Foundation through its Urban Renewal Trust Fund, today (May 25) presented grants totalling $410,000 to three St. James schools and one training project.
Beneficiaries were Railway Gardens Basic School, which received $60,000; the Catherine Hall Primary School’s Special Education Unit got $125,000; another $125,000 went to the Called To Excellence Ministries Basic School; and the Barrett Town Community Tourism Training Initiative received a grant of $100,000.
Project Manager for the KRF, Mary Dodman, in her address at the presentation ceremony, which was held at the Montego Bay office of the Social Development Commission (SDC), said that the organization had funded over 80 community development projects in the five years since its inception, at a cost of more than $5 million.
She said the KRF was always on the look out for worthwhile ventures. “At the moment, we target three main areas – the Kingston metropolitan area, St. Catherine in particular Spanish Town and Portmore, and then we also target St. James, Montego Bay in particular, including some areas on the outskirts of Montego Bay,” she stated.
She pointed out that the maximum that can be accessed by any one group was $125,000 and the project must address education, capacity building, environment and shelter or micro-enterprise.
Principal of the Railway Gardens Basic School, Laura Clarke, who gave the vote of thanks on behalf of the recipients, gave the assurance that the grants would be spent to the benefit of those most in need.
The KRF was established in 1999 with funding from the United Kingdom Department for International Development, with the aim of funding projects geared at improving the quality of life for residents of poor urban communities.