Above: Jamaica PM Portia Simpson Miller (left) at the handing over ceremony (JIS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The community of Trench Town in Jamaica’s St Andrew parish is home to a new 150-student school.

The basic school facility, which was built by Jamaica’s National Housing Trust, cost a total of J$20.6 million, or just under $232,000 USD.

It is built on lands owned by Paradise Court, a 252-unit apartment complex in Trench Town that was built in 2007.

“The dreams of the children of Trench Town are no different from the dreams of the children anywhere else in this country,” Jamaica Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said at the handing over ceremony Wednesday. “They dream of a life of fulfillment, of happiness, a life which gives them the opportunity to exercise their talent and skill, a life of peace and freedom.”

The school will accommodate students from the nearby National Baptist Basic School, which has been in operation for six decades.

Trench Town was the birthplace of Bob Marley.

“I welcome this handing over ceremony, because it is the society’s way of providing for those children the chance that they deserve,” said Housing Minister Dr Omar Davies.

He said the NHT had “set the example for all housing developers anywhere in Jamaica, understanding that what people need is not only the nice houses but rather they need the social facilities.”

The school is receiving help from Food for the Poor, which will provide desks and chairs for three classrooms.

Petrojam and Jamaica Energy Partners and Ashtrom will provide funding for whiteboards, a refrigerator and other items.