Former George Town Primary School Students Donate to School's Lunch Programme

Michael Myles and Alric Lindsay are Caymanians who attended George Town Primary School (GTPS). After completing their university education in the United States, both gentlemen returned to the Cayman Islands and began their respective professions. While achieving their goals, however, they never forgot the contributions made to them by the teachers of GTPS. On 7 April 2020, Michael and Alric gave back to GTPS in the form of a monetary Easter donation to the GTPS Parent Teachers' Association (PTA). The money will be used to provide lunch to students in the GTPS lunch programme who are now required to stay at home while schools are closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

When asked why the donation was being made at this time, Mr. Myles had this to say: “I grew up in a single parent home while attending George Town Primary school. I have personal experience with my mother’s struggles to provide meals and keep my siblings and I safe. In our time of need, the village supported us. It’s an honour to serve the children and their families who attend George Town Primary school.”

Agreeing with Mr. Myles, Mr. Lindsay noted that “my mother made sacrifices so that we could have food on the table every day. But losing our home to a fire at a very young age made me realise how quickly circumstances can change. Parents may be trying in ways we cannot imagine. This donation is an appreciation of their efforts to provide the best environment as possible for school children. Without food to fuel the mind, learning can be a difficult task.”

Melissa Maize, GTPS PTA President, thanked Mr. Myles and Mr. Lindsay for their donation saying “as a PTA body, we always strive to meet the needs of our students. Over the past years we have taken note that the needs of our students are varied hence the partnership with stakeholders to help make the learning experiences of our students rich while supporting parents in the process. The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted many of our families and as a PTA we wanted to continue the support for our families. We have to thank many business persons as well as past students who step up and joining the many individuals showing care and support at this time. The PTA is confident that this donation will undoubtedly touch several lives in these difficult times. It is our nature to serve our students. We will continue to assess our situation and looking into other ways to support our students.”

Mr. Myles and Mr. Lindsay hope that child hunger can be eradicated completely from the Cayman Islands within two years, however both appreciated that that goal may be overly optimistic given the implications and impacts of the spread of the covid-19 virus. “Post-covid, there will be a lot of work to be done. But the goal must be to change the set of circumstances facing parents and students so that the reliance on charitable giving is only temporary, with the next step being parents taking advantage of training and educational opportunities like the ones offered by Inspire Cayman. The benefits earned from these opportunities can be passed onto children and be utilized to help change the set of circumstances faced in the home and school environment.”