BOMB giving back to Irving Wilson School

he organisers of the Breakfast On My Block (BOMB) event are collaborating with the Irving Wilson School to strengthen the institution’s Independent Living Skills programme.

During a walkthrough of the Pine Plantation Road, St Michael school on Thursday, two members of the organising committee, Kevin Sluggy Dan Watson and Damian Bourne said that the July 14 show will feature visually impaired artiste Nigel Nigy Boy Hector and it was only fitting to give back to help empower students with disabilities.

Hector, a 23 year-old Jamaican living in the United States, was born more than three months premature.

Doctors initially thought he was stillbirth but he cried out while being taken to the morgue. He was diagnosed as blind around six months old.

The upcoming dancehall sensation, who has been dubbed the Stevie Wonder of dancehall, graduated from the Stonybrook University in Long Island with a degree in political science and shot to stardom when he released the dancehall song Continent.

“He is a dancehall artiste climbing the charts so we thought it was fitting to bring the two together – Nigy Boy and the Irving Wilson School. Now that we have talked to the teachers and see what the school is doing, we think it is fitting to also make this a continuous venture,” said Watson, admitting that he was “ashamed” that although he is the field coordinator of the National Peace Programme, he did not know the school – which he said had great potential – was in need of assistance.

“I think this community at the Irving Wilson School should be more widely known about. I am making a promise to bring this situation to my superiors, to write a report about the school that is doing wonderful work and see how we can help. I will push hard for it and while I don’t have the power to make decisions, I am sure that my director will see this as a worthy cause,” Watson declared, adding that there were other schools across the nation engaged in developmental programmes that needed assistance as well.

He said the Irving Wilson School was in need of a groundsman, proper fencing and a regular cleaning programme to debush a nearby unkept plot.

Teacher Juna Wiltshire said the Independent Living Skills programme was about the students being able to experience real life scenarios so they would not have to rely heavily on caretakers.

They learn how to plant vegetables and herbs and sell them. They are also taught how to do everyday activities such as making their own beds, cooking and preparing meals, grocery shopping and packing groceries in the cupboard and washing clothes.

Wiltshire said the school needed farming equipment, kitchen utensils and appliances to facilitate various aspects of the programme, and also needed help to transform a toilet into a bath.

Bourne said the school was the latest on the list of beneficiaries of the BOMB event. He said the committee usually supports families in need, people who have to travel abroad for special treatment for an illness, and community-based projects. He thanked the many sponsors from corporate Barbados who contribute to the give-back initiatives.

Principal Armed Alleyne said she was appreciative of the support and that whatever contributions the school received would go a long way.

The Irving Wilson School provides education for children who are hearing and visually impaired, as well as children with autism.