I partnered with Kingston Bookshop and took a drive to St. Elizabeth. Schools in rural areas in Jamaica know what it’s like to not get the attention and support that other, more-accessible schools in the corporate area typically receive. Few know that struggle quite as well as Nain Technical High School.

With just under 500 students, they’ve managed to transition from a junior high school to having their very first cohort of 5th formers graduating in 2020, yet it hasn’t been an easy journey. Many of the students at the school struggle with reading and literacy.

That’s why in October, when Roxanne South, a literacy teacher at the school, reached out to me via Instagram, I immediately shared her story with Kingston Bookshop, hoping they could help with even a small donation towards the school’s mission of furnishing their recently-created literacy centre.

Kingston Bookshop stepped up in a big way! Not only did Shauna Fuller Clarke, Director of IT and Special Projects at KB, offer to donate more than 200 books to the school, we all trekked to St. Elizabeth to deliver them in person. Here’s a look at how it all went down.

I didn’t know Roxanne South before she messaged me, but her desire to help her school was so great, that she risked the possibility of getting ignored or rejected to serve her students. All the other teachers knew the shortcomings of the school, yet it took this one teacher to send a simple message that resulted in the donation of so many books.

This goes to show just how much one person has the power to have a massive impact their community. That person doesn’t have to be rich, famous or known. Just someone with a heart big enough to want to change the world.

Thanks to Kingston Bookshop for your generosity and dedication towards educating the children of Jamaica, and thank you, Roxanne, for making the effort to improve the lives of your students. They are very fortunate to have your support.