When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of schools islandwide, one of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s largest organisations, the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) was called into action. The JLS was to expand its services to facilitate the nation’s students receiving adequate support in a virtual learning environment.

Through a donation of JM $27.5 million from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports, and Education (CHASE) Fund, the JLS was able to respond strongly and enable students to effectively participate in the new learning modalities which have been necessitated by COVID-19.

The donation from the CHASE Fund was used to fund the purchase of 243 tablets, 80 laptops, and 19 multi-functional printers to bolster resources in 25 libraries across the island.

Public libraries island wide provide free access to a range of resources to meet the educational, informational, and recreational needs of students, teachers, and parents. Public libraries also provide free access to computers, tablets (limited numbers), and the internet.

Director-General, JLS, Maureen Thompson describes the donation as a breakthrough for the JLS.

“This donation is momentous for us as it provides us with the opportunity to expand the capacities of our libraries to offer free access to digital resources. We recognised that teachers and students were having challenges all around with access to the internet and devices in densely populated communities to enable meaningful participation in online learning and that with additional resources the JLS could give greater support,” she explained.

The Director-General told the JIS News that the primary beneficiaries of the project were students, teachers, and parents.

“Students or teachers who do not own a device would be loaned a laptop or a tablet. We were able to offer free access to digital resources to access information, particularly when social distancing is crucial to maintaining safety in the library space and the flexibility and convenience of the use of tablets and laptops facilitates this,” she explains.

Ms Thompson told JIS News that the donation by the CHASE Fund was also used to repair four mobile libraries.

The JLS previously offered internet-enabled mobile library services in deep rural communities and were outfitted with laptops and internet access that can facilitate access over 10 devices at a time.

“We had vehicles that were aged, some were irreparable and others could be repaired but we did not have the resources to fix them. Over time, the accessories in the vehicle would break down and things such as no air condition would mean the workers are in discomfort. We were able to restore these vehicles to enable them to go into more communities and the vehicles will begin going back into communities come the new academic year,” she said.

She added that the JLS team was fully prepared to return to over 30 communities at the start of the new 2021/2022 academic year to offer mobile library services.

Ms Thompson lauded the CHASE Fund for enabling the JLS to meet the demands of the new normal for Jamaica’s youth, online learning.

“We are very grateful for this partnership which has strengthened our mutual commitment to the continuous educating of our nation’s children and they continue to demonstrate their commitment to their mandate of facilitating the education of our nation’s children,” she said.

According to Ms Thompson, the JLS plays an integral role in the teaching and learning process through the provision of a wide range of information and technology resources, programmes, and services to support digital inclusion, educational and informational pursuits through 111 public libraries, and 898 school libraries.

Chief Executive Officer, CHASE Fund, Billy Heaven, said the organisation continues to operate in sync with the priorities of the government.

“Helping to supply devices is in keeping with the government’s “Tablets in Schools Project”. As challenging as it has been for both students and teachers during the pandemic, we have been catapulted into the use of tablets and other devices for learning and even with a return to face-to-face learning, this is a new reality and CHASE will continue to support technology in schools as a priority,” he explained.

Mr Heaven also noteed that the mobile libraries being repaired were crucial as they were now more relevant than ever before as Jamaica’s students continue to grapple with new learning modalities and limited or no access to devices and the internet.

The CHASE Fund has funded a number of initiatives at the JLS over the years, to the tune of approximately $96M. Under its Arts and Culture portfolio, the organisation has also supported tertiary institution libraries and the National Library of Jamaica.

Over 2,000 students have benefitted from tablet computers donated by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund to early childhood institutions across Jamaica to facilitate virtual learning.

Two thousand devices, valued $50 million, were distributed between May and August to several schools.

They included: Allman Town Infant School in Kingston; Evelyn Mitchell Infant School in Clarendon; Arcadia Primary and Infant School in St. Thomas; Boundbrook Infant School in Portland; Naggo Head Infant School in St. Catherine; and Bethabara Infant School in Manchester.

The project complements the CHASE Fund’s SMART Boards Programme, designed to enable virtual/distant learning in the context of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The CHASE Technology Enhancement Programme (SMART Boards in Infant Schools), which began in 2019, supplements the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s Tablets in Schools initiative.

CHASE Fund, Project Manager, Latoya Aquart-Foster, noted that the organisation recognises the pandemic’s devastating impact on families not having sufficient access to electronic devices.

“Many children either do not have access or must share access with older siblings. Nationally, students who are doing exams are given priority, so there is a major gap within the early childhood sector. So since that age group is within our mandate under education – specifically early childhood education – we took the opportunity to provide devices for children in that age cohort,” she explained.

According to Mrs. Aquart-Foster, the CHASE Fund wants to reduce the learning gap emerging as a result of the pandemic.

“It is a critical stage, as quite a bit of development takes places at that age cohort of 4-6 years old, and we want to ensure that they were still being engaged and reached,” she added.

Mrs. Aquart-Foster said that the CHASE Fund remains committed to providing solutions tailored to meeting the needs of the local education system.

“The gap that exists between technology and other resources is continuously being pursued in the hope of providing the best environment for children to learn and thrive. The provision of infrastructure, training, smart boards and, more recently, tablets and printers, is always a response to issues facing the sector and the future outcomes being sought,” she explained.

The Early Childhood Commission (ECC) assisted with the undertaking by providing the CHASE Fund with a list of recommended schools.

“The ECC is equipped with a database that captures ongoing and current information on the sector; so they were in a position to provide recommendations, based on a needs assessment,” Mrs. Aquart-Foster informed.

“Whenever we are looking at the sector and trying to identify the areas of most need or the areas that we would see the biggest impact, we consult with the ECC because they have a panoramic view of the sector and they know where the deficiencies are and where the needs are greatest,” she stated.

Mrs. Aquart-Foster noted the positive feedback from administrators and teachers within the early childhood sector regarding the CHASE’s investment.

“Many of the principals and teachers have shared the struggles of virtual and distance teaching, especially regarding the cohort of children between 4-6 years old. Some of the teachers have indicated that since the pandemic started, they have not been able to reach some of their students; so the school community has expressed gratitude [for the tablets being provided],” she pointed out.

Mrs Aquart-Foster says with the CHASE Fund’s intervention, “many students will be engaged in the learning process, especially in some of the most volatile and remote areas in Jamaica.”

She praised the teachers and principals in the early education sector for their commitment to assisting the students.

“They go above and beyond to provide the resources for students in need, and they often seek assistance from organisations, like CHASE, because they are very determined to leave no student behind,” Mrs. Aquart-Foster added.

More than 700,000 Jamaicans in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon are benefitting from improved access to healthcare through the donation of $32 million by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund for the acquisition of surgical equipment for health facilities in the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA).

The equipment, including surgical beds and tables, an anaesthetic machine, defibrillators, autoclaves and electrosurgical units for operating theatres, have been installed at hospitals and one health centre in the region.

SRHA Director, Michael Bent, said that the new equipment will enhance efficiency in the delivery of health services.

“They will decrease patient waiting time because of a reduction in downtime of new equipment and also result in less wait for patients who are to do surgery. For the autoclaves, infection prevention and control is one of the hallmarks of any health service and we have to ensure that the instruments that we are using are properly sterilised, so these autoclaves help to improve not just efficiency but also the quality of care,” he noted.

Mr. Bent disclosed that the acquisition was in keeping with the Authority’s five-year retooling plan, aimed at replacing aged equipment with instruments and tools that are modern and reliable.

He said that acquiring the necessary resources to respond to healthcare needs is a high priority for the SHRA.

“Quality healthcare is one of the pillars of any country, so we must at all times be building capacity if we want to have a healthy nation and economy. In keeping with our philosophy of compassion, accountability and efficiency, the bottom line is to ensure that we are changing equipment and bringing in newer ones, so that we have greater efficiencies,” he pointed out.

Mr. Bent hailed the approximately 2,700 health and administrative workers in the region for their commitment to “going above and beyond the call of duty” in providing quality healthcare to patients.

“We try at all times to give our staff the best equipment so they are very happy and they are satisfied that the region is trying to give them the tools that are necessary to do their jobs. The patients are also happy, as they have seen that we are lifting the quality within the region’s facilities,” he adds.

Project Manager at the CHASE Fund, Latoya Aquart-Foster, advised that the entity was happy to facilitate the request from SRHA, noting that CHASE is committed to improving the quality of healthcare in the region.

“The southern region covers a vast population, and the hospitals and health centres that are situated in this region have significant resource constraints. When we reviewed the request from the SHRA and the areas of need identified, we saw it fit to support the project and approve a level of funding that will allow much of the needs to be met,” she noted.

Mrs. Aquart-Foster added that the Fund anticipates enhanced service delivery, patient care as well as greater levels of efficiencies.

“It will see a reduction in the operating costs for the operating theatres because the new equipment received would replace ageing equipment, which breaks down often and needs costly repairs. Also, equipment provided for the sterilisation of small instruments will assist with infection control,” she said.

The CHASE Fund supports projects in the health sector, including building, upgrading, restoring and equipping facilities; providing training for healthcare practitioners; promoting healthy lifestyles; and developing and implementing programmes related to renal disease and cancer prevention, detection, treatment and care.

The country’s early-childhood institutions have benefited from much-needed support to better enable them to operate within the health and safety guidelines stipulated by the Government to reduce transmission of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Through funding of $50 million from the CHASE Fund, basic schools across the island have been equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) and sanitation and hygiene supplies.

Provided were handwashing stations/basins, water storage tanks, liquid soap, paper towels, hand sanitiser, hand sanitiser dispensers, thermometers, alcohol, gloves, face shields, masks and bed linen.

It is part of a larger programme of assistance to more than 180 early-childhood and primary institutions under the Resilient Schools Project, which aims to provide a safer environment for students, teachers, school administrators, parents, and school communities, in response to COVID-19.

Director for Donor and Partnership Management at the National Education Trust (NET), Latoya Harris, indicated that the support from CHASE was welcome, as a number of basic schools were having challenges in meeting the COVID-19 measures.

“A lot of schools may not have had all the financial resources to do all of the necessary changes so to provide them with those fixed resources such as water tanks or the sanitation station, really, is welcomed because a lot of them need it,” she said.

Miss Harris noted that the support from the CHASE Fund, which she hailed as a long-standing partner of NET, would better enable school administrators to focus on other pressing needs.

“With COVID-19, some of them had to retrofit and do some construction work to ensure that they have that isolation room, which is one of the requirements for schools. There are also some that will need additional infrastructure for the additional water tanks to supply the sanitation stations at critical points throughout the school. Some schools will also need piping to get water to these stations,” she pointed out.

Miss Harris added that the school administrators have all reacted positively to the timely donations.

“This grant and assistance were welcomed because it allows schools to focus on certain key areas while they got support with other things to enhance sanitisation and hygiene,” she added.

CHASE Fund Project Manager, Latoya Aquart-Foster, noted that the entity was committed to assisting infant and primary schools to address the challenges of the pandemic.

“Many schools were uncertain of how they would put in place the measures required by the health authorities because funding is always a constraint among both privately run and government-run schools. So we were happy to have been able to provide funding to procure these items and distribute them across schools islandwide,” she says.

Mrs. Aquart-Foster also noted that the entity is pleased to be able to provide the funds to improve the health and safety of children.

“When we saw that we could assist these schools we jumped at the opportunity and we are happy to have been a part of it, and it is our hope that it has gone a far way in preparing the schools to better manage the COVID-19 protocols,” she said.

Mrs. Aquart-Foster noted that even though students are learning remotely, the supplies are beneficial “because a lot of staff members have to go in to conduct the lessons from school while children are at home. So they have benefit while children are learning from home as well as when schools do reopen.”