Three Years of Church Funds, Done in Two Months: Students Deliver a $600,000 Makeover for a Church-Owned Basic School

• Three HEART/NSTA Trust VTDI students led a $600,000 renovation at Miracle Tabernacle Basic School in St Ann’s Bay
• Work included painting, ceiling fans, new sockets and energy-saving lighting
• A refrigerator, freezer and school supplies were also donated
• The church’s board chairman said the job would have taken the church about three years to fund

Miracle Tabernacle Basic School in St Ann’s Bay, a school owned by the church, has had a $600,000 renovation led by three students of the Vocational Training Development Institute (VTDI), part of the HEART/NSTA Trust, the Gleaner reported in May 2023. The project was timed to coincide with Child Month.

Project managers Sherrie-Ann Wilson-Brown, Andrica Belcher and Shannelle Nelson organised the work, which covered painting of the classrooms, installing ceiling fans, replacing electrical sockets and fitting energy-saving bulbs. They also secured a refrigerator, a freezer, whiteboards and other supplies. “Thanks to the collective efforts, support, and contributions, we exceeded our initial goal,” Wilson-Brown said. Belcher credited donations and significant discounts from businesses, noting that the new appliances would make it easier to store food for the children.

Principal Racquel Williams Davis said the school no longer had to deal with poor lighting and the safety hazard of uncovered sockets. Pastor Lincoln Brown, chairman of the school board, said the students had completed in just over two months renovations that would have taken the church about three years to fund on its own.

Sponsors included Security Innovations & Electronics Limited, More Valu Hardware Limited, HL Rapid True Value, Chang’s 2 Express Limited, Dwayne’s Electrical & Building Solutions, FosRich, the NCB Foundation and several other local businesses.

Many of Jamaica’s early childhood institutions sit on church property and depend on congregations for upkeep, which often means repairs are put off for years. This project shows how a relatively modest budget, stretched with trade discounts and donated fittings, can make a church building safer and more efficient. Energy-saving lighting and proper electrical work also cut running costs. For church boards managing ageing school buildings, partnering with training institutions and local hardware suppliers is a practical way to protect the value of their property without taking on debt.

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