Hope Gospel Assembly taking back-to-school fair to next level
Beaming with pride at another successful staging of Hope Gospel Assembly’s back-to-school fair last Saturday, senior pastor Reverend Peter Garth disclosed that the church is planning to improve on the charity event with the creation of a centre to provide further help to residents of communities in need.
“We are going beyond the back-to-school fair to develop our communities. We have plans to erect what we call CLIC — a Community Life Impact Centre. It will be the home of skills training, a computer café and a homework centre,” Rev Garth told the Jamaica Observer, during the 11th staging of the event, which saw the church, with the aid of sponsors, presenting a total of 3,700 children with school supplies, including backpacks, books, pencils and erasers.
In addition, scholarships valued at just over $3,000,000 were awarded to 300 students.
Rev Garth pointed out that one of the objectives of the fair is to help troubled communities through the endorsement of education.
As is customary, Hope Gospel Assembly in Liguanea, the main distribution point, was crowded long before the 10:00 am start of the fair. Additional distribution points were Portmore Gospel Assembly, Rehoboth Gospel Assembly in Kingston, Treadways Gospel Assembly in Linstead, Lloyds Gospel Assembly in St Thomas, and Backbush in St Andrew, which was managed by the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
At Hope Gospel Assembly, Victoria Mutual Foundation Manager Naketa West, encouraged the students to stay focused and block out naysayers.
“We all can achieve excellence. However, you must have a plan, because if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail,” she said.
Several sponsors and parents commended the Hope Gospel Assembly team for continuing to help the less fortunate.
“I have been sponsoring the fair for the past eight years and I do it because I know how important education is to a productive society. It is an awesome initiative for the young people who need to be helped. I salute Rev Peter Garth for making the less fortunate fortunate,” said Pat Reid, an individual sponsor.
Shawna Solomon, a parent, stated that the fair has eased her financial burden to some extent, as she is a single mother.
Another parent, Jennell Hutchinson, said she was excited about what Rev Garth has in store for the community.
Ashanti Fearon, a student at Wolmer’s High School for Girls, also expressed appreciation for the fair, saying it has helped her tremendously.
