Hi, My name is Garthfield Whyte and I am Operations Officer working in the Transport Support Enforcement Department tackling Workplace Violence and Aggression and Anti-Social Behaviour across TFL network.

I am also part of the HEFI Foundation (Health, Education, Family service programs and Infrastructure).

I started this fundraiser to improve the Lystra Primary and Infant School Bridge (Jamaica) and gain Certification so emergency services can access school compound.

ORGANISATION PROFILE

The Lystra Primary and Infant School is a small institution that situated in a low-income farming district named Somerset at the foot of the blue mountain peak. Lystra Primary and Infant School has been in existence since the 1890s and now has a student population of 122. The school population composes of students and staff from Somerset, Mount Lebanus, Spring Piece, Trinityville, Seaforth and Morant Bay.

The Lystra Primary and Infant School's mission “aims at providing access to quality education for all students with varied abilities through culture and academic experiences to ensure the success of all for National development.”

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Lystra Primary and Infant School has been challenged over the years. The school is located across the Morgan River uphill opposite the main road. The bridge that connects the school property to the main road is narrow, hence, prevents vehicle access to the school. This narrowness poses a considerable amount of challenges for students, staffs, and elderly residents that live adjacent to the school. The bridge was designed to accommodate only pedestrian and cyclists. The school is striving to meet the national education goal to transform schools to achieve “World Class School Environment”. To achieve such a goal, the National Strategies includes the creation of new spaces in schools to extend access.

The creation of new spaces can interpret as the expansion of existing infrastructures that will improve the quality of the school environment to promote inclusion. Students, Staff and district residents have been using this bridge for many years. The bridge is located 23.5 meters from the main road and 153 meters downhill from the school. The bridge is two (2) meters wide and 27 meters long. It does not accommodate vehicle traffic, and therefore puts a strain on students and staffs to transport goods and materials (learning resources) to the school. This issue affects learning since the delivery of goods and learning materials usually occurs during class time and interrupts students learning activities. The students, particularly grade six (6) and five (5) students who are preparing for their external exams are usually the more mature students who assist with this task. The lack of vehicle access to the school prevents emergency and other public vehicles from accessing the school. For instance, in 2019, a particular incident took place that increased the extent of this problem where a child took sick and staffs had to lift her and travel with her down the hill, down 20 steps, then across the bridge to get to a vehicle. This strain in dealing with this emergency could have reduced if there was vehicle access to the school.

The district of Somerset is a flood-prone. The School is located in an area that floods when it rains. During this time, the students' attendance drops tremendously, including grade five (5) and Six (6) students who should be preparing for exams. Students, who do come out to school, walk a long distance in the rain. The vehicle is unable to take them closer to the school ground, hence, left the children at the main road to walk to school. Sometimes students are left stranded and have to wait until the rain stops before they could walk their way to school. This project is, therefore, the beginning of a plan that will address this issue.

Vehicular access that will improve the system of pick-up and drop-off of children, particularly the infant students, will aid the school to get its certification for early childhood. The school

environment has to meet the National Standard of the Early Childhood Commission. Additionally, there are stakeholders with medical conditions that are irritated by the distance to walk from the main road to the school ground. The distance and the terrain from the road to the school are difficult for vulnerable persons, such as persons with disabilities as well as the elderly. This is also challenging for personnel who visits from the Ministry of Education and the Early Childhood Commission. Furthermore, social and economic activities are usually poorly supported because of the distance from the main road, and vehicles are unable to access the school due to the narrowness of the bridge.

Rationale

The project importance is to improve safety for the children, particularly the early childhood students, and puts the school in a better position to achieve the standards of the Early Childhood Commission. It will improve students' learning experience by stopping the interruption of learning to facilitate the haulage of goods and learning materials. Emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances will be able to have access to the school as well as give access to other public and private vehicles. The aim is to improve and create a safe access point to the school ground. The expansion of the bridge will allow staffs to park their vehicles on school property where they can be protected, instead of leaving them unprotected on the main road. It will improve the socioeconomic status of the school environment. Increase support for school events.

Project Goal and Objectives

The project’s primary goal is that the school will have a safe access point for vehicles to enter the school compound to deliver goods and services which will help the school to capitalise on and maximise emergency and public services in a safe environment.