The over 100 students at the Norwood Basic School in St James are now benefitting from an improved playground, thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Montego Bay.

On Saturday, April 2, when Kiwanis clubs around the globe were observing Kiwanis One Day International Day, members of the Kiwanis Club of Montego Bay led by President Deloris Clarke repainted several pieces of equipment in the playground of the school, lay marl and topsoil over the stony areas, as well as planted trees.

Clarke told the

Jamaica Observer West, that the project, which was supported by several businesses in Montego Bay, including Red Stripe Premier League team Montego Bay United who provided a back hoe to help with the repaving, was undertaken at a cost of over $200,000.

“Today is Kiwanis One Day International Day, where all Kiwanis across the world is supposed to be doing a project, especially one that will enhance the lives of children,” Clarke said, adding that, “Our mandate also is to serve the children of the world — one child, one community at a time.”

Principal of the school, Barbara Angella Black, said the project was timely.

“We are very happy for the project as it gives the place a little bit of a lift and gives the children a more comfortable environment in which to play,” she told the

Observer West.

Black added that the Kiwanis Club of Montego Bay was already involved with the school, noting that it was as a result of that relationship the idea to improve the playground was arrived at.

“We do a reading project here every Tuesday, and one afternoon we were here and saw where some of the children fell on the rocky surface, and that’s what gave us the idea for this project,” Clarke later explained.

Black said the small area on the playground would be used for their sports day today, when the children, whose ages range between two and six years old, will “compete vigorously against each other”.

The school, she added, has three houses — Sunflower, Hibiscus and Bluebell — emphasising that they “take the competition seriously”.