|
Thursday | June 1, 2000
| ||||||
              |
Munro College a leader in self-help
THE EDITOR, Madam:
IN JAMAICA today, the general tendency is that whenever there is anything to be done we look to others and in particular the government. The principle of self-help has died! Well not quite, Munro College seems to be the outstanding exception. In 1980 a Munro teacher bequeathed $7,000 to the school.
This institution needed an all-purpose auditorium, and it was decided that this princely sum was to be the cornerstone of this project. It took the Munro Old Boys Association 20 years of dedication and commitment to see their dreams come to fruition. At a cost of $60 million, Munro now has the best high school auditorium in the island, if not the Caribbean, fully equipped and a vision of beauty. Under the Master of Ceremonies and one of the prime movers of this project, Mr. C. Lloyd Allen the auditorium was officially opened by Sir Alister McIntyre and was dedicated to the former and beloved headmaster, Mr. Richard Roper. What is even more enlightening is the fact that it was dedicated while Mr. Roper is still alive to bask in the esteem to which he is held by Munro boys, past and present.
The media made little mention of this exemplary feat by the Old Boys. Raising $60 million dollars with minimal help from government ($43,000 to be exact) is no mean feat and a Herculean endeavour. It seems that only when errant children abuse teachers that any press coverage is given.
The media must highlight examples of what can be achieved by self help and encourage institutions to move in that direction. Even with triple the present budget, the government will not be able to take care of all our needs.
Self help is one of the ways for Jamaica to move forward. If other institutions follow Munro's example a lot more can be achieved in this country.
In many schools today, we see dirty walls, unkempt grounds, leaking bathroom fixtures; and what do we get ? - Angry and boisterous demonstrations by parents! These parents, many of them tradesmen and technicians can do a lot to assist the schools which mold their children's future.
The auditorium is not the only endeavour of this kind undertaken by the Munro Old Boys Association. With the technical help of old boy Paul Stockhausen, they installed a series of wind turbines and now Munro sells power to JPSCo. While headmaster, Richard Roper initiated a farm programme that makes Munro, a boarding school, nearly self-sufficient.
Well done Munro, you are the trail-blazer.
I am etc., ELINOR FORBES
|
|
||||
