Hodder Education, a publisher based in the United Kingdom (UK), has donated school books estimated at £18,000 to the Ministry of Education and the students of Dominica.
The donation took place at the Newtown Primary School on Wednesday morning.
This donation was made as the publisher responded to the needs of students after Hurricane Maria.
“This first started after the devastating Hurricane Maria which I am sure several of us would like to delete from our memory at this point in time,” Business Development Executive for Hodder, Marquita Celestine said while speaking at the presentation ceremony. “My colleagues and I got together immediately after the storm wanting to do something, trying to figure out how we could help.”
She continued, “We knew we had to do our part, Dominica is a part of us. Further through which we got in touch with officials at the Ministry, mainly Dr. Blaize and Mr. Guiste expressing our desire to donate books to the students of Dominica.”
Celestine said they were advised that the damage to school property and material was immense and the ministry will welcome whatever support Hodder can offer.
“So we responded to the need and we at Hodder Education feel very grateful to be able to do our part in the rebuild of Dominica by donating an estimate of £18,000 worth of school books to the students of Dominica,” she stated.
According to Celestine, Hodder Education has been working with schools, teachers and students for over 50 years and as such consider themselves as partners with the Ministry of Education.
“As we work towards a mutual goal of providing education to students to help equip them with the skills they need to progress and succeed,” she said.
She told students at that ceremony that they are the future of Dominica.
“What you can accomplish in schools in certain degree will have a huge impact on this country and the quality on your own lives in the future,” she told students. “I commend you on the resilience you have shown during the challenging Post- Hurricane Maria.”
She encouraged students to keep that spirit of resilience and tenacity and never succumb to what difficulties that may try to prevent them from attending school.
Meantime, Assistant Chief Education Officer Dr. Jeffrey Blaize said the Ministry of Education is eternally grateful for this substantial contribution by Hodder Education.
Blaize said also that the Ministry of Education is well aware that text material is a fundamental aspect of teaching and learning.
“When you hear of school what comes to mind is classrooms, teachers, students, text, then we go down the line…so without text material it would be very difficult for students to accomplish the desired gains in the educational attainment,” he noted. “And therefore it is important to us as a ministry that this contribution by Hodder Education was presented.”
Blaize pointed out that the Ministry of Education has come a long way since Hurricane Maria as an education system.
“We have been at the wheel from September 19th, trying our best to restore the education system to a sense of normalcy and this contribution is just in keeping with the many donations that we have received from the corporate sector both locally, regionally and internationally,” he stated.
Blaize congratulated students on their level of focus and the way they have settled back into their environments.
Hope these books do not contain the nonsense we were taught as kids “Caribs ate the Arawaks”