Laura Matthews, Gleaner Writer
American comedian Steve Harvey sits in a classroom with students of Majesty Gardens Basic School in Kingston. The comedian, who was on a tour of the facilities yesterday, made a donation to the school from the Steve and Mary L. Harvey Foundation. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
POPULAR UNITED States actor/comedian Steve Harvey has stepped up his school adoption programme in Jamaica, with the number of adopted schools now standing at 10.
Some 20 children will also go to school free for one year as Mr. Harvey, through the Steve and Mary L. Harvey Foundation, will pay their tuition and cost of meals.
The gesture, according to Mr. Harvey, followed his visit to the Barracks Road Primary School in Montego Bay, where he was "overwhelmed" by the talent of some young boys playing a game of cricket with makeshift bats two years ago. Mr. Harvey said he "saw some things I needed to address."
Quoting the words of Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror, Mr. Harvey said he thought to himself "who am I to pretend not to see their needs."
IMPORTANT FOR THE CHILDREN
Yesterday, it was the Majesty Gardens Basic School in Kingston that benefited from Mr. Harvey's generosity. The school administrators were presented with US$5,000 from the foundation.
Said Mr. Harvey: "I'm not so rich that I can fix the problem, but we can do something. This is important for the children, it allows them to dream."
The Steve and Mary L. Harvey Foundation is a non-profit organisation that started in 1997.
Jos Chambers, executive director of Majesty Gardens Basic School, said he has no idea why Mr. Harvey chose this school.
"I think he was looking for an inner-city school and learnt about the Majesty Gardens area," he said.
But Mr. Harvey told The Gleaner that he realised the children did not have enough school facilities.
