IN celebration of its 30th anniversary, Food For The Poor Jamaica (FFP) last week launched a school furniture programme, which aims to provide no fewer than 15,000 school desks and

chairs to educational institutions islandwide between this month and the end of the 2013-2014 academic year.

Making the announcement at the launch at the Terra Nova Hotel, Andrew Mahfood, FFP Jamaica chairman, said that the charity would be seeking to raise US$300,000 to finance the purchase of student desks and chairs.

He said the first batch of desks and chairs would be presented to schools in January 2014.

“Our fund-raising target is US$300,000 to provide 15,000 school desks and chairs between now and the end of the academic year in July 2014,” Mahfood said.

“The first batch of school furniture donation under this programme will take place in January 2014 — a gift to FFP Jamaica from our head office in Florida — and will see us distributing 2,300 desks and chairs across the island. These items are scheduled to arrive in the island by the end of December this year.”

He pointed out that the FFP 30th Anniversary School Furniture Programme is intended to satisfy the requirements of schools which are facing an acute shortage of these much-needed supplies. He said FFP is determined that Jamaica’s children should be allowed to reach their highest potential in a comfortable and nurturing learning environment.

“We regard the FFP 30th Anniversary School Furniture initiative as an SOS to the nation that our children are urgently in need of our support in the creation of an aesthetically pleasing and child-friendly environment,” Mahfood said. “We should never subject our children to these sub-standard conditions. It is our duty and social responsibility to empower our children in the best possible way.”

During the launch, FFP appealed to private sector foundations, businesses, civil society, school alumni, and members of the diaspora to partner with the charity in the purchase of student desks and chairs, by becoming donors to the programme.

This initiative is the latest in a series of school furniture distributions by FFP over the years. Between January and August this year, 36 schools received school furniture from FFP. Last year alone FFP distributed $1.3 billion worth of school furniture and supplies to schools across Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites expressed delight and appreciation at the initiative. Commending FFP for its ongoing support to schools, Thwaites said the programme is “the kind of public-private partnership which he would like most of Jamaica to be engaged in”.

He stressed that it is important for Jamaicans “to ensure we lift up the dignity and congeniality of every child by the provision of adequate school furniture”.

Thwaites implored students to take care of both new and existing furniture.