Students and vendors in St. James are to benefit from the donation of 5,000 notebooks and 60 tents by Rosh Marketing Co. Ltd, to support back-to-school preparations and vending activities.
The items were handed over to Mayor of Montego Bay and Chairman of the St. James Municipal Corporation, Councillor Richard Vernon, during a ceremony held at the Corporation’s building in Montego Bay on Friday (July 10).
The donation comes as families continue to recover from the effects of Hurricane Melissa and as the Corporation prepares to provide additional assistance to students for the upcoming school year.
In his remarks, Councillor Vernon said the donation will strengthen the Corporation’s efforts to assist students and 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 said students at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels have already been seeking back-to-school assistance from the Corporation, while adding that the notebooks will be distributed by councillors across the parish.
Regarding the tents, the Mayor said these will complement ongoing vendor-management efforts under the Montego Bay Step-Up Urban Renewal Initiative, which includes the redevelopment and restoration of vending spaces across 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.
Meanwhile, Director of Rosh Marketing Co. Ltd, Roshan Ramchandani, said the donation reflects the company’s commitment to supporting education and community 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 said the initiative aligns with the company’s goal of contributing to Jamaica’s development.
“Jamaica will be a better place to live and work for everybody in future,” he said.
He added that similar assistance will be provided in other communities across Jamaica as the company seeks to expand its reach.
