Ferguson Primary needs help rebuilding unit for guidance, well-being of students, staff
Published:Monday | June 30, 2025 | 12:06 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
School principal Zonett Smith is hoping the Guidance Building at Ferguson Primary and Infant School in deep rural Manchester will get the support it needs to refurbish the roof that was destroyed during Hurricane Beryl.
The school has been negatively impacted since then.
July 3, 2024 is a date etched in the mind of the headmistress as the school has been trying to pick up the pieces since.
A crowd-funding project has been launched by a past student and endorsed by Smith via the GoFundMe online platform at www.gofundme.com/f/rebuild-ferguson-school-guidance-building.
Smith said the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information visited and did its assessment and the school was placed in the priority-two list.
“That building was severely impact; you know the south coast was devastated. The ministry placed us on the priority-two list but since then we have not got any positive feedback. We went back to the ministry but what I gather is that they are not through with the priority-one list so, as a result of that, ours seems to be pushed back,” Smith told The Gleaner.
The principal took it on herself to reach out to corporate entities for assistance.
“I sent out about 14 letters and I got response from two. One entity offered us a discount with an estimate for the roofing and one entity offered us a discount, however, while the discount was significant, the terms of payment we couldn’t afford that so we had to turn it down. The other entity said they could not help us at the time,” Smith said.
She told The Gleaner that the small farming community where the school is situated is currently unable to meet the financial needs.
“We are unable to do the kind of fundraising that would enable us to raise the funds to put on the roof,” Smith said, adding that currently 97 students attend the institution.
They turned to GoFundMe after a past student visited the school in February and saw the condition.
IMPACT ON STUDENTS
Smith said the roofless department has really impacted the programmes at the school in a negative way.
“It has had a severe impact on the students. To address their [behavioural] challenges in this day and age, the guidance counsellor is needed in this school more than anything. She is not able to do the kind of work that she would normally do, having her office over there,” Smith said.
The Gleaner was told the building houses the guidance counsellor’s office, a sick bay for teachers and students, an isolation room and play area for the infant department.
She is hopeful the works will be completed by the start of the new school year.
“It would be very very good if we can have it up and running for September. What we are actually doing now in preparation for the hurricane season, the teachers are making plans now to secure the equipment in their classrooms, put them in bags. They are going to strip their classrooms, take down the charts and all of that. That is the most we can do at this time,” Smith said.
Fionia Salmon, past student and GoFundMe organiser, said the goal is to ensure students once again have access to the help they need.
“Funds raised will go directly toward purchasing materials, paying for skilled labour, and completing any necessary structural work. I am personally overseeing the use of all donations, and I am committed to full transparency, every dollar will be tracked, and a detailed report will be shared with donors and the community,” Salmon wrote.
In January, the National Education Trust reported that repairs have been completed at 87 schools which were severely damaged during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
Repairs were said to be at an advanced stage, ranging between 70 per cent to 97 per cent at 17 schools while work is progressing at seven.
According to the Jamaica information Service, an assessment of all institutions determined that 364 schools were impacted at a preliminary cost of more than $4 billion.
Of that number, 111 schools were deemed severely damaged and were placed in priority one, 138 were placed in priority two, and another 115 in priority three.
Cabinet approved $2.5 billion for the education ministry to conduct emergency repairs.