The Canada Representative Office of The Jamaica National Group has partnered with the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD) Alumni Association, in Canada, to host its first fund-raising dinner to acquire computers for the school.
Maria Lawrence-Brown, president of the CCCD Alumni Association and former principal of the Kingston-based school, said that the fund-raising event will take place on October 21, 2017, at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Brampton, Canada. “This is the first project of the Association, and we want to raise funds to purchase computers for the Centre. The students are visual learners; therefore, computers are an essential learning aid for them,” she noted. The target is to purchase twenty computers.
Mrs. Lawrence-Brown said the event promises to be a “dinner with a difference,” as students from the school in Jamaica will attend the dinner in Canada to showcase their talent.
Harrington Stephenson, Operations Manager at the JN Canada Representative Office, said that JN was proud to be associated with the event.“This cause is worthy of endorsement,” he stated, “as the computers will have a significant impact in advancing the education of students at the Caribbean Christian Centre for Deaf.”
Mrs Lawrence-Brown pointed out that the JN Canada Representative Office was the first company to come on board. “We thank the JN Canada Representative Office for endorsing the fund-raising event, and invite other companies to support our initiative,” she said.
She continues to say how grateful she was to Mr. Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer of The Jamaica National Group who in a brief conversation at the recent Diaspora Conference held in Kingston, Jamaica, expressed to her how it was such a pleasure for his organization to support such a worthy cause.
In addition, she indicated that people can support the initiative by purchasing tickets to the event; make a donation to the school; place an advertisement in the programme, sponsor a child, or donate through the alumni’s website at www.cccdalumni.com. Mrs. Lawrence-Brown may also be contacted at 647-891-9400 or 416-706-9356 for further information.
Mrs Lawrence-Brown dedicated seventeen years to the management of the school, where she served as principal, prior to migrating to Canada three years ago; and, she continues to serve on the school’s executive board and also advocates for the deaf students.
She declared her dedication to the school and love for the children; and said, “It was moving to see the children come in at age…three and four…clueless and without a language and, as you teach them from scratch…you watch them grow, mature and learn, how rewarding and encouraging that can be.”
The residential institution was founded in 1958 by three missionaries from Ontario, Canada, who leased a property in Manchester and established the first school with eight students and three staff members.
Today, the Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf has expanded; and, it currently operates three residential schools, in Kingston, Manchester and Montego Bay; as well as, a centrally located Jamaica Deaf Village in Mandeville, Manchester which caters to deaf adults and their children.
