FIFTY students at the Lucea Christian Fellowship Basic School in Hanover will no longer have to share two footballs, thanks to a donation from the Ottawa South United Soccer Club, the Penning family and other Canadian donors, through the Sandals Foundation.

The institution was among four in rural Jamaica that recently shared in a pool of hundreds of soccer clothing and gear, frisbees, jump ropes, baseball paraphernalia, water bottles, and other athletic supplies.

“We are elated to have received the donation, and it came in time of need. In the past we not only grappled with an outdoor play area overgrown by shrubs and often deemed unsafe, but when we did try to allow students to enjoy break time, there was just not enough [playground items] to go around. Now that we have these, we can introduce them to different types of sports that will also help them to develop their motor skills,” shared Principal Judith Lowe.

Susanna Penning, an accredited mortgage professional in Ottawa, who, along with her husband and children spearheaded the sports gear drive, was on a trip to Jamaica with her family over a year ago when she participated in a Sandals Foundation outreach activity to a school in rural Jamaica and was inspired to make a difference.

“I wanted my children to further appreciate how fortunate they are, and to realise that not every child can go away on a fancy holiday or enjoy some of the things they do in life,” she said. “What we saw on that ride to the school and when we got there shocked us — things such as kids using tin cans as balls. We knew we had to help.”

The family bought supplies, garnered donations from the Ottawa South United Soccer Club and encouraged several students to join them in donating sports supplies they received as prizes through the Canadian charity programme, Jump Rope for Heart. As part of the partnership with the Penning family, the Sandals Foundation shipped the items into the island and facilitated distribution to the Lucea school, Savanna-la-Mar Primary, Churchill Primary and Grange Hill Primary.

“Investing in the health of our nation’s children is particularly important to us,” shared Heidi Clarke, director of programmes at the Sandals Foundation. “We want to help them to become active at a young age and in turn grow into healthy adults. A boost to the sports programme in schools is a great start to realising that vision,” she said.

The Pennings have stated their intention to build on their partnership with the Sandals Foundation in an effort to reach more students. The Sandals Foundation continues to enhance sporting programmes across Caribbean schools having only recently completed a multimillion- dollar refurbishment of the Haile Selassie High School auditorium in Kingston. The Foundation has also facilitated the Let’s Play Programme in partnership with the Coca-Cola brand and continues to manage the Care for Kids golf and cricket academies in the Caribbean.