Sick bay and Counseling Centre opens at SVGCC

Students of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College (SVGCC) Technical Division now have a new, renovated Sick Bay and Counseling Centre to cater to their needs.{{more}} The centre was officially opened on Thursday, October 6, 2011, at the Division’s compound at Arnos Vale.

Funded by the Mustique Charitable Trust (MCT), the sick bay and counseling centre features one room with two beds and a separate room for counseling sessions.

MCT Trustee Basil Charles, giving remarks at the launching ceremony, stated that the MCT received a letter of request on January 20, 2011, which stated that the campus was in dire need of a sick bay facility. It was highlighted that there was no place to accommodate ailing students or students in need of counseling.

Through a grant programme in April 2011, the trust approved a grant of EC$7,791.63 for the development of the Sick Bay and Counseling Centre.

Charles added that the Trust is pleased to be able to provide the Sick Bay and Counseling Centre to students.

The grant, he stated, fulfills the objective of the MCT ‘to improve opportunities for young children and vulnerable adults, while supporting the development of sustainable local communities within St. Vincent and the Grenadines.’

Also speaking on behalf of the MCT, Administrator Lavinia Gunn stated that the Trust is committed to providing enhanced educational opportunities to children and young people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Trust has also assisted the Technical Division on several previous occasions.

Other projects funded by the MCT include an Information Technology lab in 2009, costing approximately $124,000, as well as the purchase of a green house at at a cost of EC $15,000 from the Taiwan Technical Mission for the Agricultural Science Department of the college.

Referring to the relationship between the SVGCC and the MCT as a marriage, Deputy Director of the SVGCC Nigel Scott expressed the hope that the relationship between both organizations will continue to be fruitful and productive. Commenting on the agglomeration of the four divisions of the College which occurred in 2005, Scott stated that the College will embrace and welcome any partnerships that seek to improve the quality of education offered at the institution.

Dean of the SVGCC Technical Division Osborne Bowens stated that over the last few years there has been a radical change in education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and that the Division must revisit how they deliver services to ensure the quality of students who pass through the institution. Bowens, also listing the several contributions of the MCT to the Division, thanked them for their continued support.

Kathleen Jeffers of the Curriculum Unit of the Ministry also extended thanks to the MCT on behalf of the Ministry of Education. She stated that the Ministry appreciates such a gesture, adding that it is a testimony to the fact that the MCT is devoted to young people and that they are responding to their needs.

The launching ceremony also featured singing by the SVGCC Technical Division school choir.(OS)