FCIB steps in to help Reynolds Weekes

The students of Reynolds Weekes Primary School recently had a most valuable lesson – that when you do good, good will follow you, you can benefit others, sometimes even a long time after your good deed!

Sometime last year, four pupils of the St. Philip school found a wallet and returned it to the owner. They were applauded for their honesty and good community spirit and were rewarded by some members of the public.

One visitor to the island – a British Secret Service Agent – even paid for lunch for them and their parents. In the words of their Principal, “The children received many blessings.”

Fast forward to 2020, when their school needed to have a covered walkway for students and teachers to get from the classrooms on the far side of the school. At present, they can’t get to the bathroom or lunchroom or reach the admin block when it rains.

CIBC FirstCaribbean heard about the need at the school and has stepped in to pay for the materials for the walkway in the names of those students who did good over a year ago. Some of them have now moved on to secondary school, but their kindness is still paying off for their alma mater.

The four students (three of whom have gone on to secondary school) are Jaquon Gittens, Jahvone Forde, Nathan Leon-Blackman and Nathalia Leon-Blackman.

Principal Anderson Bishop explained that the school was trying to develop well-adjusted citizens who always strive to achieve ‘excellence.’ He thanked the bank for “the worthwhile contribution that it is making to the teachers, pupils and parents of the school”.

Director of Retail Banking Channels at CIBC FirstCaribbean and a past student of the original school on the spot – St. Martins Four Roads – Michelle Whitelaw, in making the presentation to the school, told the students their actions had consequences.

“There are consequences to what you do, and the right choices will bring the right consequences. By stepping up and doing the right thing, you benefit and your school benefits. It is a real privilege to be here today to meet you and assist with the construction of the walkway,”
she said.

After the presentation to the Principal and the four students, who were each given a token of appreciation from the bank, the group visited the area where the walkway will be installed with the contractor – Winslow Moore of Vertex Builders.

He explained that the covered walkway would be constructed in two parts, a 75-feet section from the classrooms and the adjoining section of 55-feet, to connect to the admin block. It will be 4-feet wide and carry a gabled roof to allow water to run off. (PR)