Porus primary graduates honoured as shoe drive reaches eight Manchester schools

Two former Porus Primary School students have been recognised for their outstanding performance in the Primary Exit Profile examinations, receiving surprise gifts as part of a wider effort to support children in Manchester. Azzurr Tomlin, who now attends Hampton High School, and Maligue Lawrence, who is enrolled at DeCarteret College, were honoured by Hudson Valley Dynamic Counselling (HVDC) LCSW PC in association with Friends of Porus. One student received a laptop and the other a tablet.

Both were unable to attend the presentation because of school commitments, so their mothers accepted the gifts on their behalf. HVDC founder and CEO Vassell O’Gilvie, a psychotherapist and philanthropist, recommended the awards after speaking with Porus Primary principal Teddesia Hibbert Hayles. A former student of the school, O’Gilvie recalled the care and encouragement he received from his teachers.

The presentation took place during his annual visit to Jamaica for the Give Back Jamaica Kickers Shoe Drive, held in collaboration with Friends of Porus. O’Gilvie and Give Back Jamaica president Hopeton Brown spent several days delivering more than $1 million worth of shoes to students at eight Manchester schools. This year’s recipients were Porus Primary, Broadleaf Primary, Ramble Primary, Campbell’s Primary and Infant, Porus Infant, St Jago Primary and Infant, Victoria Town Primary, and Hamon’s Primary School.

The shoe drive was created by Give Back Jamaica founder Dr Evelyn Richardson, who remembers attending school barefoot at times while growing up in Jamaica. Her experience inspired a commitment to help children attend school with proper footwear and dignity. O’Gilvie described this year’s drive as a tremendous success and said he looks forward to continuing the collaboration next year.