The Happy Hearts School Project

This project started with a donation of zinc to replace the roof of the Happy Hearts Basic School in Negril. This is a one room school for 3-6 year olds, behind the police station. The roof was severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan, allowing rain to come in during class. Some of the children were very frightened during every rain since their memories of the hurricane were still so fresh.  Plans were finalized with a builder and Mr. Kirlew of Kirlew's Hardware in Negril. Both gave discounts to FOJ, and Mr. Kirlew provided free delivery of supplies to the school. The teacher, Ms. Clarke, provided some meals and moral support to the workers. The project grew as the workers tore off the old roof and an unstable structure was revealed with termite damage to major supports. It was unwise to try to put a new roof on a building that might not support it, not to mention the danger to the children, so the project was expanded to rebuild the parts that were unstable. The cost to complete this work was US$2,300.

In 2005, FOJ did additional work at the school to fix a leaky roof
where the new roof met an existing roof over the addition at the back of
the school. A new floor was also installed in the bathroom.

Update

In Spring, 2007, the Ministry of Health required that a fence be built for the safety of the students. Thanks to donations from FOJ supporters, we exceeded our goal and raised $1,540! FOJ added $460 from our general fund to make a $2,000 donation. Additional funding was secured by Miss Helen Clarke, principal, and with assistance of the Negril Rotary, the fence became a reality. Together, we made a difference! Thank you, FOJ supporters.

The entrance to Happy Hearts through the new fence.

The path around the fence is already well worn due to the volume of traffic through the area.

The children can now walk out the door without having to watch for scooters driving by.

Update

On my last visit to Happy Hearts Basic school in Negril, I delivered a pass-through grant to Principal Helen Clarke from Scott Silverman and friends from New York. It will be added to other donations to install gates in the new fence which was funded in part by FOJ.

I was happy to see the improvements at the school. The new fence is in place. Inside, every space on every wall is full of charts and book shelves filled with books and learning materials. As usual, everything was clean and neat as a pin. I am constantly impressed with Miss Clarke and the other teacher's ability to educate these children in such crowded conditions. Miss Clarke tells me she is getting many compliments on her students when they move on to new schools. The new teachers are impressed with the level of education and discipline of the students from Happy Hearts School. This is a Negril success story FOJ supporters can be proud of.

TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!