Mustique Charitable Trust announces grants for school meal programmes

The Owia Early Childhood Centre and Adelphi Secondary School have received grants from the Mustique Charitable Trust (MCT) to provide assistance for their school meal programmes.{{more}}

On May 8, the MCT visited the Owia Early Childhood Centre to present a cheque for $9,950 to the principal, Natasha Lavia, to give additional financial support to the existing school meal programme. Forty-two preschool children will benefit from this grant, which will be used for nutritious lunches and snacks. Fresh fruit and vegetables will be provided by local farmers through the grant, which is intended to benefit the Owia community, as well as the single, unemployed parents of many of the pre-school children. The children thanked the Trust with poetry and songs specially written for the occasion.

Adelphi Secondary School received support for its school lunch programme when the administrator of the Mustique Charitable Trust, Lavinia Gunn, handed over a cheque on behalf of the Trustees for $33,250, on May 9 at the PTA Meeting at the school. The grant funds will be used to provide healthy lunches to 35 students in critical need of assistance. Hugh Thomas, the principal, accepted the grant on behalf of the staff and the PTA, indicating that the grant would encourage both improved attendance and academic performance.

Buccament Bay Secondary School has also received a grant to enable 60 needy students to have a free school lunch for academic year 2013/2014. MCT funds have been used to refurbish the building to be used for the lunch programme. It will be equipped and ready for use by September 2013.

The Trust gives on-going assistance to the breakfast programme at the School for Children with Special Needs in Kingstown, lunch for needy students at the Sunshine School in Bequia; also assistance with the purchase of groceries at St Benedict Home and Day Care Inc and Bread of Life Home.

The Trust’s intention is that these school meal programmes will make a meaningful difference to the students concerned, allowing them to participate more fully in all areas of school life. The Trustees also hope that it will ease the financial burden of the parents and the school of the selected students.

The Trust’s grant programme was set up in 2008 to overcome challenges encountered by children, young people and vulnerable adults, as well as to support the development of sustainable communities throughout St Vincent and the Grenadines. Trust funds are entirely generated by generous donations from Mustique homeowners and guests to the island, to be used to give back to needy communities in St Vincent and the Grenadines.