KINGSTON, Jamaica – Students at the Bethlehem Primary & Infant School in Malvern, St Elizabeth were all smiles after a recent visit from popular entertainer Anthony Fairclough, otherwise known as Papa Michigan, along with members of the Flow Foundation team. The two recently partnered to donate 30 tablets, each pre-loaded with a 25GB data plan which will give the students’ education a huge boost.

The school, which is located in the community of Malvern, St Elizabeth, has 187 students enrolled and caters to students from the surrounding environs such as Roseberry, Ginger Ground, Ivor Cottage, Elgin and Munro. 

According to the school’s administration, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic some fifteen months ago, the school has only seen 50 per cent of its students enrolled in online classes.  This is primarily due to the lack of devices.

In his comments at the handover ceremony held at the school, Donald Simpson, Chairman of School Board, said “I am excited about this donation.  It is a great day for the community and the school.  It is a significant and well-needed contribution especially for parents who are unable to buy devices for their children.”

This sentiment was echoed by Deneisha Rowe, Principal, who shared “I cannot begin to express my joy at this donation.  It will go a long way to improving the reach to our students.”  She further stated, “It will also be a critical resource for increasing the number of students who will now be able to attend online classes regularly, especially as Flow Foundation has also upgraded our Internet speed.”

Siblings, Rhea and Lashronaye Hanchard, were happy to have received their own tablets.   Their joy was shared by their mother, Lashanna Findlay. “This is really a huge blessing for me.  It will make a big difference especially as they do not have to share.  They can now attend online classes regularly,” she said as she expressed her appreciation.

The initiative started when Papa Michigan’s 2020 Festival song, Jamaica Dance, caught the attention of an elementary school music teacher in Wisconsin, who then used the song in a project with his students.  The school was so happy with the song that they gave Papa Michigan a cash donation at the end of the project to be used for a charity of his choice.  After speaking with his wife, they decided to donate the tablets to Bethlehem Primary & Infant School which had educated several members of the family.

Speaking at the event, Papa Michigan shared his inspiration for the donation and his appreciation to the Flow Foundation team who quickly came on board.  He said, “I wanted to give tablets to a primary school because I wanted to encourage young children to get interested in their education from early.  I believe that this will help to reduce crime and violence as they will be more focused on learning.”   He added, “This project has demonstrated the importance of giving.  The look on the children’s faces when they got their tablets means the world to me and I am just happy that Flow Foundation and I were able to make a difference.”  He then gave the children an extra treat by performing his hit festival song.

According to Flow Foundation’s Community Programmes Coordinator, Courtney Bell, “When Papa Michigan approached us, we were happy to support the initiative and quickly agreed to match his donation. We understand the importance of technology, especially during this time.  As we continue to support the education of our nation’s children, we also saw this as an opportunity to use our products and services to further bridge the digital divide, and so, we were happy to also upgrade Bethlehem Primary’s Internet speed to ensure a better teaching and learning experience for the teachers and students respectively.”

The Flow Foundation has had a long-standing history of supporting education in Jamaica through various initiatives and partnerships.  The partnership with Papa Michigan is the latest venture in tablet donations to students across the island.  Earlier this year, the Foundation partnered with the Sean Paul and Sandals Foundations which saw over 200 tablets being donated to several schools island-wide.