Tendai Franklyn-Brown, Staff Reporter

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) has donated teaching material and other equipment to 60 basic schools throughout Jamaica in response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Dean in 2007.

Speaking during the handover ceremony at the Mona Visitors' Lodge, Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan, chairman of the ECC and the Post-Hurricane Dean Response Committee, said coordinated partnerships with private sector and non-governmental organisations were key to securing aid.

"The ECC found willing partners who helped with funding and the refurbishment of schools teaching and learning materials; together the partners have provided $234 million in the rehabilitation of schools," she said.

Among the material donated were toys, phonics charts, wooden unit blocks, carts and abacus sets to encourage play and stimulate cognitive development.

Social development

The ECC places heavy emphasis on play, which has been widely acknowledged in studies as critical to the social development of children, said Dr Rebecca Tortello, adviser/consultant to the minister of education.

"I know very well that play nourishes every aspect of children's development," she explained.

Tortello, a mother of two, argued that play paved the path for learning.

"It forms the foundation for intellectual, social, physical and emotional skills necessary for success in school and life," she added.

Andrea Howard, principal of Bethel Bible Way Basic School in Kingston, said she was grateful for the material and was optimistic about the potential for literacy and numeracy development.

"Play is one of the main areas that children learn to socialise and interact with each other, and how to share and care," she said.

tendai.franklyn-brown@gleanerjm.com