As we hear the warning of social commentator Dr Henley Morgan, we understand the significance of a groundbreaking ceremony last Wednesday in McCook’s Pen, St Catherine, and an extraordinary education project being spearheaded by MP Dr Damion Crawford in his East Rural St Andrew constituency.

Dr Morgan is worried that there are about 30,000 “lost boys” who are in danger of being developed into “killing machines”. Luke Douglas reported in the Observer on Dr Morgan’s address given at a recent Kiwanis meeting: “These boys, who hail from poor inner-city backgrounds, have little parental guidance and may have suffered the loss of family members, are unsure about what is wrong from right. They can therefore be easily manipulated to carry out deadly criminal acts.”

Food for the Poor (FFP) launched their Jamaica 50 Programme last Wednesday: the building or upgrading of 50 infant schools throughout Jamaica and the training of 500 teachers in early childhood education over the next 50 months.

FFP Chair Andrew Mahfood explained that the organisation had been supporting educational projects for many years, including the building of sanitary blocks for nearly 60 infant schools. At a school in Kitson Town two years ago, the children composed a song to celebrate their new status: “Flush toilet, yes, we have flush toilet now!” In tracking the performance of the children after amenities were improved, FFP found that they had significantly better grades.

The beautiful, well-behaved infants of High House Infant School in McCook’s Pen were testimony to the dedication of the school’s founder Rosalyn Gayle and her small staff. We also met individuals who had benefited from the FFP education fund. They include Jamaica’s Spelling Bee Champion Gifton Wright who made us proud, tying for fourth place in the USA’s demanding Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Education Minister Rev Ronnie Thwaites, said he hoped that in this our Jubilee Year, we would realise that good education at every level should not be dependent on philanthropy. “After emancipation, we saw that the only way to get on in life was through education. We need to recover that sense of priority,” he said.

Rev Thwaites reminded us that even with the richest of natural resources, we cannot prosper “unless we have an educated workforce, a spiritually conscious nation”. He said we should be grateful that there were no restrictions on school prayer and that we should “teach the children to pray, to know they are children of God and encourage in them a spirit of generosity”.

This country is indebted to Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan, chair of the Early Childhood Commission, for her extensive research on the importance of offering high-quality education to this age cohort. “The early childhood period which includes from birth to eight years is that period when children’s brains are developing most rapidly and when children learn the most,” she said at the event.

She also emphasised the importance of a child’s environment: “It is important for us to realise that during this period, children learn from whatever environment they are placed in. If we place them in a violent environment, their brains are wired for violence; and they become violent. If we place them in a loving environment, their brains are wired for love and care and they become loving and caring children and adults.”

Food for the Poor board member, William Mahfood, related how excited he was to learn about an extensive education programme being undertaken by Dr Damion Crawford who had actually begun this initiative with colleagues at UWI before he was elected member of parliament.

It was only two weeks ago that this column was bemoaning the lack of passion in our leaders, so you can imagine how transfixed I was to listen to Dr Crawford describing his 3-2-1 approach for his constituency:

* 3 CXC subjects per household after five years

* 2 CAPE subjects per household after 10 years

* 1 university degree per household after 15 years

He has 4,017 students registered in the programme from areas in all 97 polling divisions. Welfare assistance to families is tied to this project. Parents or guardians must be active in the PTA, certified by a letter from the schools’ principals. If they cannot pay some of the fees required by the school, a barter system is in place where goods and services can be offered in lieu of cash. (This took me back to the days of our childhood when my mother would barter groceries from her shop and her sewing skills to send us to the Catholic prep school in Sav-la-mar.)

There is a HOPE reading club (Helping Our People Excel), Verandah Basic for all age groups, adult classes where soup is offered, and an upcoming GSAT camp at UWI for 212 children about to enter grade six. Dr Crawford’s team has bought GO-GSAT modules for the camp, which will provide meals and accommodation. A total of 47 volunteers are on board to teach and counsel.

There are plans to buy books wholesale for CSEC students, to set up an IT learning centre in Bull Bay and to continue with a comprehensive after-school programme in which all 22 schools have homework centres from 4 to 6 pm.

William wants us to support this model and have it replicated across Jamaica – what a mighty wave that would be! Then those 32,000 boys of whom Dr Morgan spoke will no longer be in jeopardy – they will be too busy getting an education to get into trouble.

Congrats, Legendary Olympians

Last Saturday the CCRP (Caribbean Community of Retired Persons) honoured five Olympic Legends, our “Diamonds in Jamaica Gold”. Kudos to Dr Cynthia Thompson, who first competed for Jamaica in 1946, Vilma Charlton, Grace Jackson, Donald Quarrie and Bertland Cameron. The CCRP will continue to honour in the coming years many others who have contributed to nation building.

Gates Millennium Scholar

Brilliant Jamaican-born Matthew Chen, son of Dr Bobby Chen and Dr Claudia Walter Chen, has been named a Gates Millennium Scholar. This means he will be able to pursue as much undergraduate and graduate education as he wants, absolutely free. The scholarship includes books, computers, travel and housing.The outstanding graduate of Baylor College in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is heading to Stanford University in California. His delighted grandmothers, Hyacinth Gloria Chen and Irene Walter are legends in their own right.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com