LITTLE LONDON, Westmoreland — For some time now, St Paul’s Primary School in Little London, Westmoreland, has been experiencing a steady decline in enrolment, due mainly to the lack of a reliable public transportation system in the area.

But Camille Davis Williams, the acting principal of the school, says with the efforts of her staff and the support received from the Sandals Foundation and Great Shape! Inc, they are now in a better position to market the educational facility.

“That’s one of the things that my teachers and I have talked about, in terms of marketing our school, getting it out there to show the different programmes that we are offering. How good and skilled our teachers are… to send their kids here,” Davis Williams argued.

“And with the help that we are getting from Sandals and Great Shape! we are hoping to use this as one of the platforms where we can put our school out there, to say we have a good school. Yes, it is rural, but great things are happening here, so send your kids here.”

The school, located in one of Westmoreland’s sugar cane belts, which has done well academically over the years, was built to accommodate approximately 300 students, but there are currently only 142 students enrolled.

“We are kind of low in terms of population and we have been having some concerns, especially regarding transportation to and from school, because as you will notice, the school is within the cane belt and we are also surrounded by many different schools and they are closer on the main road. So it is a challenge to get new students and to maintain the ones that we have, because of transportation…bike taxis are still our main way of getting to school,” explained Davis Williams.

“But, especially now that the police are having a crackdown on bike taxis, that is having an adverse effect on our population, as it stands.”

Among the benefits St Paul’s Primary has received under the Sandals/Great Shape! SuperKids Literacy Project are: assistance in teaching certain subject areas such as science, art, music, audiology, physical education and language arts. The school has also benefited from the provision of equipment, including the refurbishing of 14 computers.

Last week, a team from the group was on hand to participate in a raft of activities at the school.

Ten-year-old Kala Brown of St Paul’s Primary is appreciative of the work that has been undertaken at her school by the group.

“Generally I am not good at Mathematics, but I have benefited from members of the team who assisted others and myself in that subject area,” she told Observer West.

Education Officer Winfield Murray also expressed appreciation for the initiative, arguing that the programme plays a critical role in the development of the students.

Murray said he will be working to get the education ministry more involved, in an effort to give the programme the recognition that it deserves.

St Paul’s Primary was among the four high – need schools in the western region that benefited under the initiative this year.

The others were: Church Hill Primary in Hanover, Peggy Barry and Paul Island schools in Westmoreland.

Started in 1988, the US-based Great Shape! Incorporated, has undertaken a number of initiatives – including dental, eye care and literacy projects- in Jamaica during its 27 years of existence.

Under the various initiatives, Sandals Foundation and Great Shape! Inc have spent some US$1.1 million on accommodations, transportation, meals and logistics.

This year alone, Great Shape! Inc and the Sandals Foundation donated 5,000 books to schools in the western region, and constructed 10 book shelves. Eleven hundred pairs of shoes and 600 new school uniforms were also distributed to students in selected Westmoreland and Hanover communities.