The Salt Marsh community has a population of 10,000 and is located approximately 3.5 kilometers away from the tourist resort of Falmouth.
Previously, families from the community were having to send their children to Falmouth and bordering towns to access early childhood education. The additional cost of travel was a challenge and many families were not able to access these facilities.
The building of Salt Marsh Infant School provides local and free access to the current 100 children in need of early childhood education in the community. The Basic School has been built beside the Primary School, allowing for a smooth transition for children from early childhood education to primary school.
The new school has four classrooms school which will be able to hold the 100 children and also allow for growth. The school also has a kitchen, washrooms, playground, water, sickbay, and furniture
Food For The Poor Canada and its partner, Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation, had volunteers from Canada, the US and Jamaica working over the course of two days to build the new school. The volunteers had a fantastic time building with the staff and contractors of Food For The Poor Jamaica, along with the following celebrity volunteers:
- Yohan Blake, Jamaican sprinter and gold and silver medalist
- Dwayne De Rosario, international soccer player
- Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals, Jamaican Ska legend
- Sean Paul, international rapper, dancehall and Ragga hip-hop star
- Shaggy, international reggae star and philanthropist
- Warren Weir, Olympic medalist for Jamaica in the 200-meter
- Serena Williams, 21-time Tennis Grand Slam winner and 2015’s Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year
