Bickerseth, St. James — The 65-year wait for an asphalted roadway leading from the Bickersteth main road into the Bickersteth Primary and Infant schoolyard is finally over, and stakeholders at the rural St James school are grateful.

Thanks to the partnership between the GraceKennedy-owned First Global Bank and the St James Parish Council, the roadway to the school compound was repaired over the Christmas holiday.

The initiative was borne out of the Bickersteth Primary and Infant School being part of the First Global Bank/Ministry of Education’s (FGB/MOE) Music – Perfect Pitch for a Sound Education project, which includes Math Day, Music Day and the Master Minds Quiz Competition.

Bickersteth Primary was the recipient of $750,000 for their participation in the quiz contest, from which Immediate Past Principal Vivian Douglas had pledged to pave the schoolyard and fencing it. Douglas went on early retirement on December 31, having served 38 years as an educator.

First Global Bank’s Chief Executive Officer Courtney Campbell said he was very pleased to see that the funds had been properly utilised.

“This is just another positive way in which the Music – Perfect Pitch for a Sound Education programme is significantly impacting our children’s educational development,” Campbell said.

Meanwhile, Douglas lauded First Global Bank and Ministry of Education for the programme.

“As I go on early retirement, there is tremendous room for further development, but I can tell you that, without a doubt, the school has been doing tremendously well under the First Global Bank/Ministry of Education project,” he noted.

“Literacy and numeracy have improved significantly. No organisation can operate without good networking. I’m happy that we were drafted onto the programme by Marlon Williams in the Ministry of Education. I can say today that we have certainly accomplished many milestones,” he added.

“The fixing of the roadway has essentially ended 65 years of drought. The school was built in 1950 and the roadway leading into the schoolyard had been in dire need of repair for decades. So to God be the glory for First Global Bank and the St James Parish Council for coming on board,” an elated Douglas said.

Douglas added: “I must also give special thanks to Marlon Williams. It was he who carried out his search, found Bickersteth Primary and highly recommended that we be brought into the programme.”

Williams also hailed the FGB/MOE initiative.

“Since the joint initiative between FGB/MOE in 2011, we have realised that together we have transformed the lives of hundreds of students. All 13 schools involved in the project had a great 2015. We are hoping that, if the budget will allow, we can add more schools to the project so more students can benefit from the programme,” he said.

Mayor of Montego Bay Glendon Harris, in lauding the joint initiative, said it was a fitting example of how corporate Jamaica and the Government can together achieve much. He also charged the business community to become more involved in the pursuit of the nation’s children’s educational development.