Montego Bay gets 5,000 notebooks and 60 tents from Rosh Marketing for school and vendor support

Rosh Marketing Co. Ltd has supplied 5,000 notebooks and 60 tents to help students and street traders in St. James with back-to-school needs and vending operations.

The gift was presented on Friday (July 10) to Councillor Richard Vernon, Mayor of Montego Bay and Chairman of the St. James Municipal Corporation, at a handover held at the Corporation’s offices in Montego Bay.

The contribution arrives while households are still rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa and as the Corporation readies further help for pupils ahead of the new academic term.

Councillor Vernon told the gathering that the notebooks and tents will bolster the Corporation’s outreach to learners and their families. “I am anticipating that for parents, they will be reaching out this year more than they usually do for assistance. Many are still out of jobs [and] as you know, much of the labour market, is in the hospitality sector, and the hospitality sector has been significantly affected,” he said.

He noted that primary, secondary and tertiary students have already approached the Corporation for back-to-school support, and that parish councillors will share out the notebooks across St. James.

On the tents, the Mayor explained they will reinforce work already under way through the Montego Bay Step-Up Urban Renewal Initiative, which is upgrading and repairing vendor sites throughout the city. “We are dealing with vendor management, and as such, we have redeveloped different sections of the Montego Bay space, and we are restoring some of the ones that existed and are in a dilapidated condition. We are putting in the bricks, and therefore they will have to abide by the new rules that are set out in those areas and one of them is removal of tarpaulins,” he said.

Roshan Ramchandani, Director of Rosh Marketing Co. Ltd, said the gift shows the firm’s dedication to schooling and local development. “Our vision is children are the future, so if in any way we get a chance to support any education part of things, we’ll always be in the forefront with no second thoughts,” he said.

Mr. Ramchandani linked the donation to the company’s aim of advancing national progress. “Jamaica will be a better place to live and work for everybody in future,” he said. He also indicated that comparable support is planned for other communities islandwide as Rosh Marketing widens its community programme.