Students Receive School Bags from Bob Marley Foundation

Forty-five students from several schools in eastern Portland were presented with school bags donated by the Bob Marley Foundation in New York, during a special handing over ceremony held at the Port Antonio Primary School on Friday, June 3.
Making the presentation was Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, Dr. Donald Rhodd, who is also Member of Parliament for the area.
Students who received the bags were chosen from Port Antonio Primary, Boundbrook Primary, Sherwood Forest Primary, Boston Primary, Ken Wright Primary, Fair Prospect Primary, Drapers All-age and Nonsuch All-age schools.
The bags were donated to the Ministry of Education for distribution to needy students, as part of the Bob Marley Foundation’s effort to assist those students to acquire a good education.
Making the presentation, Dr. Rhodd thanked the Bob Marley Foundation for the kind gesture it had displayed and encouraged the children to demonstrate their appreciation by not only being grateful to the organization, but by also making a special effort to learn all that they were being taught in school.
He said the students should regard themselves as being privileged to be receiving the quality of education being provided by the country’s education system, and urged them to grasp all the opportunities for learning.
Dr. Rhodd pointed out that the government was making a special effort to ensure that the country’s education system was of the highest standard, and that there has to be a partnership among the government, parents and the community, “if the country is to continue to provide quality education for its young people”.
The State Minister noted that the government would be implementing a refurbishing programme in a number of schools in Portland soon, for the purpose of repairing their sanitary facilities, and making them fully operational for the new school year in September.
Also addressing the function was Everard Douglas, Senior Education Officer for Region 2 of the Ministry of Education, who encouraged the students to always embrace proper values and attitudes as they sought to make the best use of the education being offered to them.
The students thanked both Dr. Rhodd and the Bob Marley Foundation for the gifts, and expressed confidence that the presentation would inspire them to make an extra effort to perform well in school.