In stark contrast to its condition a few years ago, the Camp Savannah Basic School now boasts a new nine-classroom building with modern fixtures, furniture, and other amenities for the convenience for its more than 200 students and seven teachers. The plight of the School, located in Camp Savannah, Westmoreland – a community which, for many years, was plagued by gang violence – was first brought to the CHASE Fund’s attention by the Jamaica Constabulary Force Community Safety and Security Branch. The institution was initially housed in a large wooden building that was constructed by a team of foreign volunteers after the Wesleyan Holiness Church which it occupied previously was destroyed by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The building, which was separated into four classrooms by chalkboard partitions, had fallen into disrepair. The school was over-crowded; students and teachers shared bathroom facilities; and lunch was provided from the home of a community member, as the kitchen had been converted into classroom space. With the CHASE intervention, the institution is now ECC compliant.
