Restored reading centre gives Alligator Pond children a safe place to learn

MANCHESTER, Jamaica — A damaged roof following Hurricane Melissa brought classes to a halt, leaving children who always looked forward to spending Saturday mornings at the Alligator Pond Reading Centre in Manchester without a vital learning space. With support from the JN Foundation and JN Circle, the reading centre has been restored, clearing the way for classes to resume in September. For Omar Robinson, president of the JN Circle Junction, getting the centre back up and running was personal.

When he visited shortly after the hurricane, he saw a ceiling badly damaged by the storm, said a release from the JN Foundation. This was one of the first places I came to because I know how important this space is for the development of my children in literacy,” he said. The damage was more than an inconvenience.

With the ceiling compromised, Robinson and the volunteers made the difficult decision to suspend classes until repairs could be completed. I would not want to have them in a space where the ceiling was halfway down. Help came through the JN Group's ISupportJamaica Hurricane Relief Fund, which forms part of the foundation's ongoing commitment to help communities recover and build resilience in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

The centre was nominated through the JN Circle because of its importance to the community and the Circle’s long-standing involvement with the facility, including support with books and furniture. Hakeem Atkinson, member relations supervisor at the JN Group, said the decision reflected the centre’s potential to create lasting impact in the community. "The Alligator Pond Reading Centre is a space that we have supported through various initiatives over the years, and when we learned that it had been damaged, we felt it was a very deserving nominee for the grant,” he said.

“We recognised that this is a place that has been and will continue to be an important part of community development, and supporting its restoration is another way we can help the community to grow.” Since opening in February 2025, the reading centre has steadily grown from a handful of children to approximately 30 students attending Saturday sessions by the end of the year. The programme is deliberately structured around each child's ability. Students complete reading assessments before being placed in groups accordi…