St Mary’s Mahoe Hill school principal happy for doc’s support
Principal Arlene Ashley has always yearned for external support to go hand in hand with the gospel of better education at Mahoe Hill Primary and Infant School in St Mary.
So when parish-based medical practitioner, Dr Nagendra Babu Chandolu stepped forward to donate $100,000, as well as teaching aides and sports gear to the over 70-year-old school on his 34th birthday last Tuesday, November 1, she could not hold back her joy.
“We are grateful to Dr Babu for his generous support, and we hope that others will support us,” Ashley said during a presentation at the institution located in the South Eastern village of Broadgate, five kilometres south west of the seacoast town of Annotto Bay.
Against the backdrop of a breathtaking mountain view, clear skies, and 64 of 68 cheering pupils, the monetary donation was earmarked for the start of construction of a covered corridor for the young ones who often experience challenges when it rains and they need to use the washrooms.
The pupils, principal, five teachers, caregiver and ancillary staff also surprised the donor, pleasantly, with a birthday gift which he pledged to cherish dearly.
“We are lacking in many things at the school, so we are looking for more contributions from others,” Ashley said. “We need things for the infant department; we would love a few laptops, we have no Internet here, so we could do with that too, and we are asking parents to assist as best as they can.”
India’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, Rungsung Masakui, who also visited the institution, reachable by way of a narrow, one-vehicle-at-a-time bridge across the Wag Water River, offered encouraging words to the pupils, some of whom he interacted, personally, with.
As he entered the hallway and said ‘hello’ to all and sundry, one pupil remarked, ‘oh you are Chinese’, to which he pulled his cellular phone from his pocket, and proceeded to demonstrate where in the north east of India he is from, emphasising that he, like them, arose from humble beginnings.
He also lauded Dr Chandolu’s gesture of the donation, saying that unlike many others who “chose to receive on his birthday, he opted to give, and that is something special.”
For Dr Chandolu’s part, giving to a worthy cause is always something that he believes in.
“I was born in poor circumstances in my village in India, so whatever I can do to help others, I am all for that,” said Dr Chandolu, who practices in the towns of Annotto Bay and Highgate under the banner of his Ashish Health Care organisation. “I contacted the principal to see how I could assist the school, and decided to make the donation on my birthday.”