Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development (Dominica)
The Ministry of Education this week held a press briefing to update the media and public on ongoing works at five (5) primary schools funded by the Maria Holder Memorial Trust of Barbados. Keys to the Trafalgar Primary School were handed over. The other schools are Warner, Concord, Belles and Roseau Primary Schools. Children in five communities in Dominica will soon benefit from the support of The Maria Holder Memorial Trust. As part of an important strategic area of The Maria Holder Memorial Trust’s work, these communities will have access to quality Early Childhood Education facilities. It will be done through a project to refurbish and rebuild six primary schools that suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017, to bring the schools back to an acceptable standard for teaching and learning and to provide extra space for Preschool children.
The project is being done in two phases. The first phase is now complete and targeted four schools- the Belles, Concord, Warner and Trafalgar Primary Schools- for refurbishment, along with a new Pre-Kindergarten Unit at Trafalgar. Refurbishment includes new windows and doors, repairs to kitchens and roofs, painting, fencing and the upgrading of bathrooms.
The second phase will include the building of new Pre-Kindergarten Units at Belles, Concord, Warner and Roseau. The Wotten Waven Primary School is the sixth school slated for improvements.
“The strategic goal of this project is to assist with providing quality access to early childhood education in Dominica. The project was already being planned before Hurricane Maria but had to be substantially changed and the funding increased to include refurbishment after the storm,” Jane Armstrong, Consultant/Advisor to The Maria Holder Memorial Trust stated. “The project is expected to create access to approximately sixty (60) early childhood education places for children aged 3 to 5 in Dominica to meet the Government’s commitment to providing universal access to early childhood education.”
In thanking The Maria Holder Memorial Trust for its support, Ms. Chandler Hyacinth, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development explained, “This project will have a significant impact on these communities in which it seeks to develop early childhood education places. We have seen how new or refurbished structures have an impact on communities. People are grateful, happy for the new facility and anxious to make use of it for their families.”
The Maria Holder Memorial Trust continues to make its mark across the Caribbean in tangible and transformational ways. This project will contribute significantly to the cognitive, social and economic benefits in these communities as it creates greater access to Early Childhood Education in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
This Article was taken from Dominica News Online – Thursday, January 31st, 2019