This fall, back-to-school will be brand-new for students at Mitchell Town
OUR FOUNDATION
Building a
brighter future
For children around the world whose schools have been closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to their customary classrooms and camaraderie at back-to-school time is going to feel like an exciting, brand-new world. But for children attending the Mitchell Town Primary School in Clarendon, Jamaica, the experience will actually be brand-new, since the entire school has just received JA$11.3 million in long-overdue refurbishments and upgrades.
Through our New Fortress Energy Foundation, we’re proud to have funded these updates to the more than 60-year-old Mitchell Town Primary School, which is just 16 kilometers from our new gas-fired combined heat and power plant.
The 2,500 residents of the rural community of Mitchell Town face high unemployment; most of the residents who are employed work either in the local bauxite industry or on farms. Since the 1940s, the town’s only primary school had become dilapidated and outdated – but now its current 200 students, and generations to come, have the opportunity to secure a brighter future for themselves and their families.
The broad-ranging Mitchell Town Primary School renovation project included:
- resurfacing classroom floors;
- replacing cracked walls and missing windows;
- installing new bathrooms;
- replacing the existing wooden tuck shop with a concrete food facility; and
- installing new surfaces for the assembly area and playground, new perimeter fencing and gate, and improving landscaping throughout the complex.
“The type of environment in which a child learns has a lot to do with how he or she learns,” said newly appointed Principal Mario Palmer. “So I feel a great sense of pride when I see the school now… I am confident that students will be even more motivated to call Mitchell Town Primary their school, and that this is now a space where they can comfortably learn, grow, and flourish.”
At New Fortress Energy, we believe education is a key component in building a brighter future, and we strive to support quality education in all the communities where we operate. We’re so grateful to have been involved in these improvements at Mitchell Town Primary School and excited to provide students and our LNG community with a school environment that’s safe, secure, and conducive to learning – a place where they can truly shine and reach their fullest potential.
