Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, is urging the private sector to support expansion of the School Feeding Programme for students under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH).
Senator Reid pointed out that the Government covers the programme for only three days and is only able to allocate $90 per day for each of the more than 200,000 students on PATH.
“The kids need to have lunch for five days and some of them even come to school without breakfast. We have to find a way to get lunch for the other two days. We can’t have our children going to school hungry. We need to find a solution,” Mr. Reid emphasised.
The Minister was speaking at the handing over of a photovoltaic system at the Jamaica National Children’s Home (JNCH) in Mona on May 5.
Meanwhile, Senator Reid is appealing to parents to be more responsible. “We must ensure that we do not have children we cannot take care of. Fathers must not father children and leave them on the mothers. We need to plan for our children, we need to protect our children,” he said.
The photovoltaic system was installed under a three-year partnership with the National Tool and Engineering Institute of the HEART Trust/NTA and St. Lawrence College in Ontario, Canada.
One of the objectives of the project is to develop skills in the field of renewable energy and efficiency. As such, students and faculty members of both training institutions were essential to the installation of the 16.3-kilowatt system.
The system seeks to offset power consumption by residents of the facility, that should result in a 30 per cent reduction in the monthly electricity bill over the next 20 years.
For his part, Executive Director of the HEART Trust/NTA, Dr. Wayne Wesley, said his agency is committed to investing in sustainable energy initiatives, and equipping persons with the necessary skills to engage in those projects.
For his part, Canadian High Commissioner to Jamaica, His Excellency Sylvain Fabi, said his country remains committed to assisting with development projects in Jamaica.
Chairperson of the JNCH Board of Trustees, Cecille Bernard, expressed gratitude to the people and Government of Canada for the investment.
She informed that the photovoltaic system will impact the lives of members of the entire community.
Source: Jamaica Information Service