THE sounds of little voices pronouncing words emanate from classrooms at a primary school in rural Jamaica as children outside dig holes to receive young breadfruit plants. A few metres away, the cheerful melodies of new songs ring throughout the air.

It is November and hundreds of students in Hanover and Westmoreland have been reaping the benefits of beautified surroundings enhanced literacy and computer education, sports, music and arts programmes, as well as uniform donations through Great Shape! Inc’s SuperKids literacy project implemented at schools in the parish.

Through a partnership with the Sandals Foundation and Ministry of Education, dozens of computer labs will be installed this year and 4,400 books, 500 pairs of shoes and 300 uniforms will be donated. The programme will also see 75 breadfruit trees — donated by the Trees That Feed Foundation — planted in schools to boost feeding programmes while some will be gifted to students. In addition, bookshelves will be installed in the four schools which are the primary beneficiaries of the literacy enhancement programme — Pell River and Kendal Primary schools in Hanover and the Broughton Primary and Mount Airy All-Age schools in Westmoreland.

Great Shape! Inc’s SuperKids provides resources, volunteers, and training to rural area schools where the literacy rate is just about 40 per cent. The co-ordinators assess each target institution and tailor programmes to meet the needs of students in grades one through six. One-on-one teaching and innovative techniques are used to maintain students’ attention and creative solutions are employed to fully engage the students. Volunteers have also added another layer in sustainability with a Green Team. The Green Team uses storytelling, songwriting, singing, and lessons about environmental care and healthy eating habits to enhance literacy.

According to Great Shape! Inc’s Communications Director, Lucinda Kay: “In 25 years our volunteers have built an impactful, sustainable programme. We don’t just provide a one-time hit, we’re able to add layer upon layer so that our Jamaican families have access to constant educational resources and knowledge. We maintain our stamina and improve our strategies with amazing partners like Sandals, the Ministry of Education and so many more.”

Great Shape! Inc, the Sandals Foundation and the Ministry of Education have long collaborated to improve literacy in the schools they serve. After partnering with Great Shape!’s volunteers there has been a noted improvement in reading and comprehension scores. According to the Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites, “Sandals Foundation and Great Shape! are doing great work in our schools. The children are the future and whatever we can do to enhance their education, we must do it.”

Collaboration is the best solution,” he shared recently at a school rededication in Moreland Hill, where Great Shape! has provided computer support.

“Sandals Resorts International and the Sandals Foundation are extremely pleased that we have been able to provide support to Great Shape! SuperKids Literacy project over the past six years, and we believe this is a partnership that has been reaping myriad benefits from increasing the literacy rate within the target schools, to encouraging students to grow what they eat,” noted Heidi Clarke, director of programmes for the Sandals Foundation, which provides the connection to the schools as well as logistical support, funds transportation and accommodates all the volunteers at no charge. To date, schools in St Ann and St Mary have also been impacted by the partnership with as many as 50 computer labs built in the area schools up to 2012.

Great Shape! Inc has been leading humanitarian projects in Jamaica since 1988. It launched in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Gilbert. Volunteers serve 40,000 people each year in Jamaica with its three main projects: 1,000 Smiles (dental care), iCARE (eye care), and SuperKids (literacy). In the past four years alone, the Sandals Foundation has pumped over US$2 million into Great Shape! Inc’s programmes.