by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – During her years as a student at Hayes Primary and Infant School in Jamaica, Jeane Russell walked over six miles from her home in Clarendon parish to attend classes there. Forty years later, children still found it difficult getting to school on time.
In April, Russell donated a 2018 Toyota Hiace bus to her alma mater, which is located in southern Jamaica. Georgia Bissoon, acting vice principal at Hayes Primary and Infant School, says the gift is timely.
“Being a rural school, it is very critical to have a reliably sound transportation unit for our students because the children need to know that we care about them and they need to feel safe and protected as they travel to school,” she told South Florida Caribbean News. “The other harsh reality is that some of our parents/guardians find it hard to provide the fare for the children to come to school and so they are absent for days.”
The Hayes Primary and Infant School is over 100 years-old. Currently, there are 527 students enrolled there, all from Clarendon, one of the leading producers of sugar in Jamaica.
It is South Florida-based Russell’s latest gesture to the school which has been her charity for over 30 years. The van was purchased after two years of fundraising by a team that saw its urgent need for suitable transportation.
“It brings tears to my eyes seeing the smiles on the children’s faces, it’s indescribable. It’s more than just a school bus, I’m proud, humbled and filled with joy to have played a significant role,” said Russell.
The bus has a seating capacity for nine passengers, but Bissoon says there are plans to reconfigure it to hold as many as 16 students.
One of the main towns in Clarendon, Hayes is the hometown of singer Freddie McGregor.
Finding proper transportation to school remains a challenge for many students in rural Jamaica. Unlike the capital Kingston and the tourism mecca of Montego Bay, there is no official bus system in most of these remote parishes.
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