A team from the Florida/Bahamas (FLOBAH) chapter of the Godfrey Stewart Past Students Association, and the Kiwanis Club of Kendall South Dade, visited its Westmoreland campus in June to assess damage caused by Hurricane Melissa last October.

The nine-member mission also made stops in Savanna La Mar and Whitehouse, other areas of that parish affected by the category five hurricane. They visited Black River in St Elizabeth, another town that suffered extensive damage.

Devon Dobson, president of FLOBAH, told Observer Online that his alma mater was a priority.

“The mission was specific to the campus of Godfrey Stewart High School (GSHS). Our mission was to build out and outfit a literacy centre to address the instances of new students coming into the institution,” he said. “This programme is part of a nationwide push by the Ministry of Education to address this phenomenon.”

Dobson and Jennifer Robertson, vice-president of FLOBAH, donated US$4,000 to Emily Ricketts, principal of Godfrey Stewart High School, to help revive the breakfast programme the organisation has co-sponsored since 2015.

“Our immediate plans are to get the breakfast programme up and running again in the shortest possible time. We are also planning to further build out and equip the literacy centre,” Dobson stated. “I must say a great, big thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Kendall South Dade, the Kiwanis clubs of Negril Point and Westmoreland Capital, for their continued and significant support of our efforts at GSHS.”

The mission made stops at 288-year-old Mannings High School, which felt the brunt of Melissa’s force. They also assisted an initiative by Jamaica Nurses of Florida which provided breakfast and lunch to volunteers.

The FLOBAH team comprised Devon Dobson, Jennifer Robertson, Janet Dobson (who is also president of Kiwanis Club of Kendall South Dade) and Lorna Black. Dr Caroline Raffington, Sandra Redway, Robert Fletcher, Dr Beverlin Allen and Walcott Allen, also represented the Kiwanians.

— Howard Campbell