Support Education in Riversdale, Jamaica!

Summary

We are Projects with Underserved Communities (PUC) Team Jamaica 2024 - 2025! Our group comprises of seven undergraduate students from the Cockrell School of Engineering and the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. 

We aim to provide a healthy learning environment and education opportunities for students of the Mount Hermon Primary and Infant School in Riversdale, Jamaica. We hope to achieve this by (1) converting a kitchen into a functional classroom for the 38 students of the Infant School, and (2) preparing another room to be used as an E-learning space for the primary students. After a year of planning, our team will begin the implementation phase of our project in May 2025. 

Mount Hermon Primary and Infant School in Riversdale, Jamaica 

Understanding the Project

After the closure of a nearby primary school in Riversdale, Jamaica, its students were sent to Mount Hermon, where there are more schoolchildren than classrooms. 

Primary Objective: Infant School Classroom

Currently, 38 students of the Infant School are crammed into small classrooms or outdoor verandas where there is little space for themselves, their bookbags, and lunch bags. As a result, their bags are left on the patio to be exposed to the environment's winds and rains. 

As the school is up for re-certification by the Early Childhood Commission, the school's officials want to renovate an unused kitchen into a classroom for the students. 

Typical classroom of the Infant School

Classroom on the veranda

Student's bags left outside the classroom

Unused kitchen to be converted to classroom

The officials have also expressed a desire to set up an E-learning space, or computer lab, for the students of the Primary School. There is a run-down classroom that could be converted to this space. To meet the building requirements for proper ventilation, the room also requires renovation.

Walls need to be boarded up and holes need to be filled

Room needs to be cleaned up

Collaborating with Our Partners

Throughout the fall and spring semesters, our team will be planning and fundraising for the builds. We have partnered with United Way Jamaica (UWJ), the principal of Mount Hermon Primary and Infant School, and our technical advisors (professional engineers on PUC's advisory board) to support the success, impact, and sustainability of our project.

We will maintain ongoing communication with UWJ and the principal to ensure we address their needs effectively. Additionally, we will actively consult our technical advisors to confirm that our designs and plans are structurally safe and sound. In Jamaica, we will work alongside contractor and skilled laborers to help with the construction.

Together with our partners, our team is dedicated to successfully delivering this project, benefitting the current and future generations of students of Mount Hermon. 

Helping Us Accomplish Our Goals

We are raising at least $15,000 to accomplish our two aims to positively impact the students at the Mount Hermon Primary and Infant School and its surrounding community. Your donation and support will go towards the materials, contractor, labor, and technical advisor costs. Any amount is a step towards the success of this project. Please donate today!