The Editor, Sir:

The unveiling and handing over of a new two-story building at the Eliot Infant and Primary School in Eliot, St. Mary, was held on Saturday evening, July 28. This handsome building that will house classrooms, a library, a computer lab along with state-of-the art bathroom facilities was donated by Ms. Pauline Christie, a past student of the school. She was born in Aleppo, St. Mary, and currently resides with her family in Sugar Land, Texas.

Ms. Christie migrated with her family to the United States in the 1970s. While living in the county of Westchester, New York, she attended Iona College in that same county, where she attained a bachelor of science degree in accounting. She later moved away and settled in Sugar Land, Texas, just outside Houston.

The Eliot Infant and Primary School is a very important educational institution. Over the years, it has produced an array of talented, smart, bright, articulate and intelligent individuals which include current State Minister in Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade the Hon. Delano Franklyn and his siblings throughout the Jamaican Diaspora and as far away as England and North America. This project was conceptualised and coordinated by Ms. Christie and the writer, (her brother-in-law) who ironically was born outside the parish in Kingston and is from New York - he also acted as consultant, project manager/administrator.

We the coordinators of the project strongly feel that education is the key to economic growth and prosperity in any community - that is why erecting the building was a deliberate multi-purpose affair. Jobs were provided for the people in the community, building materials were purchased locally along with other goods and services, thereby, boosting the local economy. This is a perfect exampleof what it is like for an individual to give back something to the community from which they came even if it means making sacrifices that will benefit others. The gift was so phenomenal that it also included other benefits as well, such as: campus lighting, a new water fountain, water tank relocation and elevation and marl work done directly in front of the building.

Even though Ms. Christie volunteers in her own community, she truly gives credence to the creed that says charity really begins at home. She also dedicated the building to her late husband Scotty who himself was a great believer in education and she also expressed gratitude to communication giant and a good corporate citizen Cable and Wireless Jamaica who donated the computers along with free Internet service and to others in the community who helped to make it all a reality.

I am, etc.,

NOEL MITCHELL

Nlmworld@yahoo.com

Westchester, New York

Via Go-Jamaica