KINGSTON, Jamaica — A career human resources consultant with a passion for empowering others aims to expand access to education in Jamaica through her recently launched peer-to-peer educational services hub and book exchange platform.

The peer-to-peer membership platform, Rebookit.Club, connects those looking to buy, sell, or advertise academic resources, thereby allowing its members to save, earn and learn.

The initiative officially launched its website in beta mode on July 25, 2025, at the University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters in Kingston, with the mobile app expected to become available on Google Play and the Apple Store in August.

Kerri-Ann Smith Berrick, founder and managing director of Rebookit.Club, said the platform, which also offers access to information about educational institutions, tutoring services and extracurricular activities at launch, was developed to help bridge a growing gap in access to education.

“Access to information, access to resources, that makes a huge difference between where you start and where you end and when you end; some end very prematurely simply because they didn’t have the same facilities that others did,” Smith Berrick said.

“Many Jamaican students and by extension their families face challenges accessing what they need to get their children on the right path through the right doors; that includes academic resources,” she added.

The platform addresses key barriers such as the cost of textbooks, limited tutoring options, and the absence of tailored learning resources, particularly for neurodivergent learners.

“There is  limited awareness which is where it starts, because if you’re not aware, you can’t do anything to fix it or help it or support alternate learning styles. You know what we call alternate learning styles in Jamaica, it’s a five-letter word,” Smith Berrick said to the audience, who responded with the word “dunce.”

Smith Berrick highlighted how harmful the “dunce” label can be, especially for students who simply learn differently but may excel in other areas.

“They may not do certain things in the same way that everybody does on an average but in some things they are way above average,” Smith Berrick said.

She also pointed out that up to 50 per cent of Jamaican students face resource-related barriers to academic success. Rebookit.Club aims to fill that gap by creating a community-driven solution, where users can not only buy and sell books but also connect with educational service providers, from tutors and schools to extracurricular programmes, events, scholarships, awards and grants.

“Rebookit.Club is not just a platform, it is a community, it is a movement. We are trying to move our students, our children, our people in the right direction and what we are doing is that we are leveraging the power of the community to supply the community,” Smith Berrick said.

The platform features three main pillars:

1. Books – where users can list, browse, bid on, or make offers on used books;
2. ED-directory – a space where tutors, schools, and other educational service providers can list offerings, and garner testimonials and reviews that are useful to prospective students and parents ; and
3. Events – featuring seminars, symposia, lectures, and scholarship opportunities.

Users can rate buyers and sellers, and communicate directly via chat before completing their transactions off-site.

Smith Berrick noted that the platform does not currently collect or hold any payments on behalf of a seller. She also advised users to avoid sharing exact addresses by instead using safe public landmarks or nearby locations for meet-ups.

As the app is in its early stages, Smith Berrick invited users to test it and share feedback to improve functionality.

“We want to know what’s working and what’s not. We want to hear what features you like and what you don’t like. What would be nicer if we did it this way… We want to hear from you,” she said.

Parent Jeri Wright, who inspired the platform, shared how useful it has already been to her.

“It allows me a much wider platform to reach so many more people and earn what I want to because the books that I was trying to resell were pristine… I thought, why do I have to keep these books in the corner or on some shelf? I can earn and that money went back to my daughter as allowance. It didn’t come out of my pocket anymore.”

Wright also noted that the platform’s event feature will provide her daughter with more opportunities for summer engagement.

Former President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) La Sonja Harrison, who also serves as a rural school principal, praised the platform’s potential to improve access for rural students and families.

“As someone who serves as principal for a rural primary school, I can see where my parents can benefit tremendously because I know of the challenges… that my teachers face,” she said.

The platform was also endorsed by Belinda Williams, head of corporate affairs and foundation at The platform was also endorsed by Belinda Williams, head of corporate affairs and foundation at National Commercial Bank (NCB), who commended Rebookit.Club for creating an educational ecosystem.

“It actually brings in an ecosystem that is vast and covers the gamut of what is required when you think about the educational context… these are like the in-roads and the network and the knowledge and that for me represents a very vital conduit,” Williams said.

She added that the NCB Foundation sees education as a catalyst for change and intends to work closely with Rebookit.Club to support Jamaican parents and students.

Rebookit.Club has partnered with GraceKennedy to enable payments through Bill Express, especially for users without credit or debit cards. Plans are underway to introduce online payments, school-specific databases, and pickup and delivery partners for books.

The launch was also strongly supported by several organisations and individuals who share the platform’s mission of educational access and affordability. Among those present were representatives from the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ), with President Stewart Jacobs serving as guest speaker and vocal advocate for the platform.

Other major supporters included the Flow Foundation, LASCO Foundation, Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation, the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Discovery Technologies, HRMAJ, Y Smart Data IO, and Christopher Rekord, AI and Digital Transformation Consultant.

Principal Sheena Taylor-Morgan of Louise Bennett-Coverley Primary School also expressed her institution’s full support.

“The importance of literacy and fostering our culture of reading cannot be overemphasised… Having access to a network where purchase of used educational resources will go a far way in reducing costs,” Taylor-Morgan said.

“Our parents and educators are able to save using this platform, earn by selling their books, and learn from the resources bought or sold. That’s a full-circle benefit,” she continued. “Louise Bennett-Coverley Primary is on board. I will be selling this to my parents, and we are committed to being a part of the community.”