Rotary donates school bus

One month after receiving a brand new school bus, two local institutions have recorded greater attendance and punctuality rates for their students.{{more}}

Faculty officials of the School for Children with Special Needs and the Helping Hands Centre say that the wheelchair accessible bus, which was donated by the Rotary Club of St. Vincent, has assisted in their students’ turnout to school, which was more irregular in times past.

In late October this year, the vehicle, which was provided by the Federal Republic of Germany, was officially handed over to the schools, at a ceremony held at the School for Children with Special Needs at Wilson Hill.

Rotary Club President Dr. Kenneth Onu, who expressed gratitude to the German Ambassador to the region Stefan Schluter for the timely response to the project, admitted that the project could not have been possible without the contributions of a number of community and education-minded partners, including the Mustique Charitable Trust, was the Ministry of Education, Soroptomist International as well as the Helping Hands Centre and St. Hill Insurance.

The Mustique Charitable Trust was represented by its Director Lavinia Gunn, who announced that her organization will be covering operational costs for the vehicle for the academic year 2011 to 2012, at a cost of over EC $40,000.

Addresses were also delivered by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education Nicole Bonadie-Baker and Chairman of the Board of the School for Children with Special Needs Leroy Lewis and Chairman of the Helping Hands Centre Junior Bacchus.

The bus will be managed by a joint committee comprising the Rotary Club and Helping Hands Centre.

The previous bus, owned and operated by the Helping Hands Centre has far outlived its useful life, after ten years of service.