A REMARKABLE salute to The Gleaner's latest Spelling Bee champion, Rosanna Pike, was paid her on Sunday by the Waterhouse community in South St. Andrew in a street parade organised by church leaders to celebrate her achievement.
The occasion was a welcome contrast to the ubiquitous demonstrations that are the common form of protest about social conditions in the ramshackle of the inner city, but it was also a fresh focus on the secular by religious leaders.
It may well be that this involvement derives from the ground-breaking church initiative of Prime Minister Simpson Miller. But that would ignore the long history of the church in social interventions in matters ranging from poverty alleviation to education in a broad sweep of institutional development across the nation.
The tribute to Rosanna was designed as a moment of glory for the ghetto. Pastor Winston Jackson of the Waterhouse Church Leaders' Association described it as an attempt to lift the spirit of an inner-city community where violence had fomented feelings of hopelessness and depression.
The occasion was the more remarkable for the fact that it was a tribute to a level of academic achievement even at this rudimentary level of being able to spell words. That may not be as exciting as winning a trophy for football or cricket.
Sport, of course, is intrinsically competitive, but the Spelling Bee over its 46 years of existence has also offered the excitement of competition at this initial stage of educational development. So much so that the triumph of Jodie-Ann Maxwell at international level in 1998 was an achievement which sparked national rejoicing.
Rosanna at age 13 is slated to attempt to match Jodie-Ann's feat at the next Scripps Howard championships in the United States later this month.
We hope that Sunday's tribute from her community will boost her confidence at the higher level and that the community celebration will then have national scope.
Such events are a welcome fillip to the search for ways to influence a beleaguered generation in desperate need of potential role models. Church and school must be happy collaborators in this endeavour.
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