The Guest Speaker at the weekly Luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Montego Bay on October 20, 2009 was Dr. Cecile Walden, former Principal of Same Sharpe Teachers' College. Dr Walden began her teaching career in 1968. Four decades and several awards and accolades later (her most recent accolade was the award as one of the five finalists in the first global women of vision award in june 2009), she recently retired as Principal of the Sam Sharpe teachers' college in September 2009. Dr. Walden thanked Rotary for the support given by the Organisation to education over the years but she bemoaned the fact that violence pervades many areas of Jamaica and has a negative effect on educational initiatives all across Jamaica and especially in depressed, low income areas. This is compounded by the fact that in so many communities across Jamaica there are no basic resource/research facilities. Well stocked libraries, equipped with internet facilities are a scarce thing in Jamaica and information is not readily available to children or adults alike. If information is not available, how can a community grow?
Dr. Walden in her presentation to the Club, stressed the importance and need for Local Community "After school Resource Centres". She gave examples of such a centre in the Granville area which, sadly eventually closed due to lack of financial support and resources. The facility which originally was started as an after school programme for children, quickly attracted adults as adult literacy, parenting workshops and other programmes were designed for local community adults. The facility included not only academic programmes for children, but also had a very successful musical and arts programme as well which was received very well.
The Centre in Granville proved to be valuable, not just for the educational knowledge that it transmitted but for the emotional, spiritual and attitudinal impact it had on the lives of children and the community it served
Dr. Walden described the tremendous value of these Centres to communities- helping parents with the tools they need to be better parents, providing assistance for children with their academic work (especially helpful when parents are not literate & so cannot provide such assistance), helping students develop non academic skills and perhaps the most important of all, providing children with a safe, vibrant place to play and be themselves.
Dr. Cecile Walden (centre) receives a token of appreciation from Past Presidents Erica and Denton.
"If children are not in school and parents do not have lifelong learning opportunities, then we will not make it out of this recession. This world is information driven." said Dr. Walden. "Entrepreneurs must have vision and if they don't have information about where they can or must go then they won't be able to go anywhere! Change can only come when we can interract in and out of school in community efforts such as research centres."
Dr. Walden made an appeal to the Rotary Club to consider sponsoring a Homework Centre.
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