AFTER months of steering their schools through the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, principals from some of the hardest-hit institutions were on Tuesday grateful to be recognised for their selfless leadership, each receiving a $50,000 personal grant in acknowledgement of their unwavering commitment to school communities.

The grant, designed to support the school heads personally after years of putting their institutions first, was given to nine principals across parishes still bouncing back from last October’s Category 5 storm.

The school leaders were awarded with prepaid cards from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC Caribbean) in partnership with the National College for Educational Leadership (NCEL), recognising their dedication and resilience in leading school recovery efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Beryl in 2024, and Melissa.

Principal of Green Pond High School Oraine Ebanks was frank as he delivered his speech during the handover ceremony of the prepaid cards at the CIBC Caribbean headquarters in New Kingston, arguing that the sacrifices and struggles endured by those who sit at the helm of an organisation often goes unnoticed.

He recalled that when the St James school was left with severe structural damage, and his students and staff were dealing with trauma and loss, he too was under immense stress. Schools being mandated by the Ministry of Education to reopen mere months after the catastrophic storm did not help his plight.

Ebanks shared that the staff meeting that followed the Government’s call to reopen institutions was one of the hardest moments of his career.

“When we were ready to return to school, we had a staff meeting, and it was the roughest staff meeting of my life. [Comments included] ‘Sir, you know the ministry is pushing that and our staff members have lost their roof and children are displaced’, and so on. ‘Sir, you are just pushing this because you want to look good’. [But] you know, the truth is I remain humble. Because I understand what they are going through,” he said.

“My father had me going back and forth from Clarendon, because that’s where I’m from. My mom is blind, and the whole thing, they did not remember that the leader is going through some things too. But you are not called to find excuses. You have to stand up as a leader,” said Ebanks.

He told the ceremony that he was grateful that his many sacrifices were being recognised, noting that he was humbled to be seen for his efforts to keep Green Pond High School going in the face of adversity.

“As we tell our story about when we were ready to resume school, and the resistance that we got, because everybody needed help, but nobody remembered the principal who was up and about trying to get school ready for the students who were at home, some of them without beds. They wanted a space to come, food to eat, and to just return to normalcy. I thank CIBC, coming on-board, and recognising the effort of the principal,” said Ebanks.

Norda Louden, principal of Savanna-la-mar Inclusive Infant Academy in Westmoreland, was also grateful for the reward, noting that she felt proud that her sacrifices, and leadership were seen and appreciated.

“I really was not expecting to get a donation. I am thankful for the gesture and I am happy that CIBC and NCEL were able to partner and to recognise us as principals in this fashion. At least we know that somebody cares,” she said.

She told the Jamaica Observer that immediately after the storm, the school community mobilised with her at the head of operations, helping to do wellness sessions and delivering care packages to families in the surrounding areas, such as Whitehouse and Darliston.

Louden explained that while she was providing help to neighbouring communities, her leadership was also heavily needed at her school, which suffered significant loss from the winds of Hurricane Melissa.

“We had structural damage. It was fully solarised and after the storm we had absolutely no panels remaining. The fencing, a section of our physiotherapy room was significantly damaged, as well as our kitchen and canteen area. So we started mobilising from early, trying to get repairs done and of course all the repairs would have been possible through the Rockhouse Foundation, our main sponsor. They have been on the ground from day one to ensure that the school and its structure were up and running and ready to accommodate the students,” she noted.

While acknowledging that the task has been tedious, she told the Observer that her commitment to ensuring that returning her students and staff to normality would never wane.

“Even though everything was not totally refurbished, we had sufficient space for the students to be on the compound and they were fed. We ensured that every single child had a very warm meal to eat and that they were comfortable in the space,” she said.

For her part, keynote speaker Dr Kasan Troupe thanked the educators for their unconditional service to their student’s and communities, encouraging them to continue leading with their hearts and the interests of creating the leaders of the next generation.

“The contribution of $50,000 to each of these nine principals is not just a cheque; it’s a message to say, we see your humanity, we see your struggle, and we are willing to stand beside you when things get tough. It’s a message. corporate Jamaica often sets up crisis response for many different things, but you didn’t go into a school; you called on the individual, you called out our principals, and this is important to us because we want to recognise the resilience within them and the selflessness that they have demonstrated in ensuring that we could recoup and we could build back,” she said.