Sagicor Foundation and MoBay City Run help revive Maldon High farm projects

A Labour Day collaboration involving the Sagicor Foundation and the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run charity has given Maldon High School in upper St James a boost as the institution continues to deal with damage left by Hurricane Melissa.

On Monday, 25 volunteers travelled to the rural school to work on its poultry house and shade house, two farming facilities that were badly affected during the hurricane. The day’s activities included cleaning, painting and helping with repairs to parts of the poultry house roof. Residents from the community also joined the effort, assisting with the replacement of damaged zinc sheets.

Janet Silvera, chairman of the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run charity, said the group chose Maldon High because the facilities are important to the school’s agriculture training and meal-support programmes.

Silvera said the charity was aware that the poultry house had been giving the school trouble and that the building could accommodate about 800 chickens when in use. She said supporting the school’s farm-to-table work was a meaningful way to mark Labour Day.

She also pointed to Maldon High’s link with the MoBay City Run, noting that students from the school had done well in the event. According to Silvera, one student won the 5K, another placed second in that race, and a third student finished second in the 10K. She said the performances showed why the charity felt compelled to support the school environment around those students.

Principal Janet Manning said the poultry house is used both for teaching and to help the school earn funds. She explained that students learn chicken rearing there, while the school also benefits financially when it is able to stock birds regularly.

Manning added that the poultry operation contributes to the canteen programme, which prepares cooked lunches each day for students and teachers. She said the school hopes the repaired facility will be ready to hold chickens again by September. The Sagicor Foundation contributed $750,000 to the project.

The Labour Day work also included attention to the shade house, which supports Maldon High’s hydroponics programme. That programme had also been interrupted by the effects of Hurricane Melissa.

Marion Edwards, branch manager at Sagicor Montego Bay, said the effort was in keeping with the foundation’s focus on community development in western Jamaica. She said Sagicor team members were working alongside students and residents to restore the school’s chicken house and greenhouse.

Edwards said the foundation was happy to maintain its partnership with the Jill Stewart MoBay City Run charity for a second straight year. She said the relationship with Silvera had helped Sagicor extend its foundation work beyond Montego Bay into other communities.