BEING an institution that has the majority of its students coming from gritty, violence-prone communities, St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) has embarked on a campaign to raise US$1 million for the construction of a medical counselling and intervention centre (MCIC) that will cater to the emotional, psychological, and other needs of the teenage pupils.

Two students shared with the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday that, time after time, many of their schoolmates find themselves in dire need of counselling, medical attention ,and other crucial services and they require these things in a comfortable environment conducive to their well-being.

“I welcome this MCIC because a lot of times the students have a lot of challenges — medical and mental challenges. Sometimes there is peer pressure and this will be helpful because students can relax and let out all their negative emotions. Some of the students have family issues and coming from certain communities, it is stressful on them,” Shennelle Wright, one of the students, shared.

Underscoring the immediate need for such a facility at the institution, Wright’s friend, Petagaye Goodhall, referenced a case where one of her classmates suffered from an overload due to intense studying and was unable sit his exam the following day.

“It will benefit a lot of students. I had a friend who studied too hard for an exam and it caused him severe stress. When he got to school the next day, he had to go to the sick bay and had to sleep in there because he went to bed at 2:00 am and he couldn’t sit the exam. This will also benefit a lot of students because many of them don’t eat breakfast and they come to school and feel sick because of that. The stress relief area is also ideal for the students. I cannot help but mention that the violence in their communities affects them mentally as well,” Goodhall told the Observer.

The school’s principal, Dr Worrel Hibbert, said that 87 per cent of the students come from a cross section of Kingston’s toughest neighbourhoods, including Greenwich Town, Rose Town, Jones Town, Denham Town and Tivoli Gardens.

“The other 13 per cent is split between students from Spanish Town and Portmore in St Catherine. A few come from just above Half-Way-Tree. From these communities our children come to us in pain. Some of the cases are medical, psychosocial, while some face some sort of abuse — physical or mental or emotional. As a school it is important for us to respond. Today’s activity is really our response to some of the needs I mentioned,” Hibbert said.

The initiative is the brainchild of a group of past students who refer to themselves collectively as STATHS 78 & Friends.

Charles Edwards, a member of the batch of graduates from the class of 1978, shared the building concept of the MCIC at Wednesday’s launch of the fund-raising drive at the Spanish Town Road-based institution.

He said the idea to start the drive to raise funds for the construction of the building was born out of a visit to the current nurse’s quarters at the institution. He expressed that he and others had a feeling of displeasure during the visit.

“We came up with the idea after visiting the nursing area, where she is in one little area with three beds and stuff falling down all over the place. We spoke to the counsellors and got a good idea of what they wanted and then we put all the ideas on paper. We came up with a concept and it seemed as if everybody liked it. The plan for the building is when you enter, to the left will be a double counselling area with a bench room.

“The bench room is important. When a student comes here under enormous stress or anything like that, they will have a punching bag or something for them to release stress before they get back into the school. We’ll have a solar section with a water treatment area. There is a section for the dean of discipline and the nurse’s section. We have a plan for 10 recovery beds, and a male and female section.

“We will also have a treatment room and an isolation room. Let’s say something happens, we can isolate the students, exit them from the crowd and go straight to an ambulance. We have all these sections. We will have provisions for the disabled. I am hoping corporate Jamaica will jump on it and make it a reality because even more than that, I think this should be the platform from which other schools should take off,” Edwards said.

Claude Bryan, another member of the batch of STATHS graduates from the year 1978, also encouraged corporate Jamaica to support the plan as a way to exercise corporate social responsibility.

“The MCIC is going to require not just the participation of the alumni, but Jamaica. The MCIC serves as the perfect platform to practise corporate social responsibility. We are inviting corporate Jamaica to see the MCIC as the perfect foil to launch their social responsibility and social obligations. It is as a consequence that we are today raising the banner, signifying that indeed the MCIC centre is alive and kicking and we are encouraging corporate Jamaica, individuals, alumni in Jamaica and the diaspora to join with us and pool together so that we can make this a reality.”

Donating $1 million and setting an example for others to follow, was the STATHS alumni assoication, Jamaica Chapter. The $1-million cheque was handed over by Sybil Jones, chapter president.