GoFundMe Information

We are fundraising money to build an accessibility ramp and a safety fence at Hayfield Primary and Infant school. This is a project that we started back in 2019 when I was a Peace Corps volunteer living in Jamaica. It has been a long process but we are finally at the point where we can start raising the funds for this project. We hope to raise the funds quickly so we can start building in January 2022.

 

We have teamed up with The St. Thomas Renaissance Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to supporting education, healthcare, economic development, and social initiatives in the Parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica.

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Help the project by buying a:

• Bag of cement - $6 for one bag of cement (Carib Cement is one of Jamaica’s biggest companies and most of the houses here are build out of concrete)

• Day’s wage for a worker –$25 is how much we want to pay our workers (the minimum wage in Jamaica is about $48 a week!)

• Section of the ramp – $75 for each section of the ramp (each section is 1.83m long x 1.22m wide x 0.1m thick in situ concrete plinth)

• Section of the fence – $150 for each section of the fence (this is an important part of the project that will keep the children from falling down the hill)

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Become a Sponsor:

Donate over $100 and become a Usain Bolt Level Sponsor

Donate over $250 and become a Miss Lou Level Sponsor

Donate over $500 and become a Bob Marley Level Sponsor

 

All of the sponsors will be acknowledged on our website if you wish to be recognized for your kindness.

 

Project Need:

Hayfield, St. Thomas is a rural farming community in eastern Jamaica. It is a small community at the top of the mountains, situated where the Blue Mountains and the John Crow Mountains meet. There is a primary and infant school in the community that all of the young kids in the community attend. In 2019 there were 25 students attending the school, with three teachers, one principal, one clerical assistant and one janitor/cook working at the school. Because it is such a small school it is hard to get resources for much needed improvements.

 

Currently, there is a student that goes to the school that is in a wheelchair. He has difficulty getting up the 31 stairs. Someone from his family, usually his father, has to carry him up the stairs in the morning and back down in the evening. The accessibility ramp will also help out other people with disabilities to access the school. The building is used as a meeting place where community meetings and trainings are held. The school is the only government building in the community and can be used for emergency shelter in case of natural disasters. With 65% of the people in Hayfield over the age of 65, many people will benefit from this project.

 

Next to the school play field there is a steep drop off. Kids play football (soccer) there and often times the ball will roll down. The teachers tell the kids not to go down there to get the ball but often the children don’t listen. In 2016 a student fell down there and broke both of his arms. By building a safety fence around the play area, we can prevent the children from falling down there and hurting themselves.