Historic Manning’s School to benefit from 2026 National Leadership Prayer Breakfast
THE historic Manning’s School in Westmoreland, which was ravaged by the October 28, 2025 Hurricane Melissa, will get a rebuilding boost for its wellness centre from this year’s National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB).
The 46th staging of the NLPB will focus on western Jamaica, with the historic Thomas Manning Building structure, which is believed to be the oldest-surviving part of the institution that was built in the early 20th century, being the focus.
“This year the VM Group and the NLPB have identified simultaneously the charity for sponsorship as the Manning’s School, and we are focusing again on the sick bay which requires significant rehabilitation,” said secretary for the NLPB Committee Reverend Wayneford McFarlane during media briefing on Wednesday.
Past chairman of the NLPB Committee, Reverend Sam McCook, said the project, which is valued at $2.8 million, will be undertaken in collaboration with the Manning’s School Past Students Association.
“The project involves spending roughly $2.5 million on a modular structure, $300,000 on some ancillary aspects which they regard as a baseline. That is in excess of what we have traditionally done as a breakfast, and we indicated to the past students that we may not be able to fully fund that, but they welcomed the support and the efforts will be made to compliment what was done,” said McCook.
In the meantime, president and CEO of VM Group Courtney Campbell said its organisation stands in support of all the objectives and the virtues promoted by the NLPB.
“We believe in the power of faith, we believe in the effectiveness of prayer, we believe in the importance of unity, and we believe, like many others, righteousness exalts a nation,” Campbell said.
Underscoring Melissa’s devastation to western parishes, the NLPB Committee announced on Wednesday that the annual National Week of Prayer for this year will be launched in that section of the island, with the first service being held at the First Church of the Open Bible in Montego Bay, St James.
The week of prayer will culminate on the morning of January 15 with the NLPB, which will be held under the theme ‘Caring for our neighbour’.
