Foundation Fundamentals (April 2017) 2016/2017 Volume 2 | Page 6

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Digicel Rising Star 2016 winner gives back to Mount Ogle The Evelyn Peterkin Basic School is the newest partner to join the Foundation’s 700-fold project bank with a newly constructed sick bay and indoor bathroom facility. The project was selected by Elton Earlington, the 2016 winner of the Digicel Rising Star talent competition. As part of his grand prize, Earlington received a grant of J$1.5M to kick-start a community project. Gloria Carter, Principal with Elton Earlington (before construction photo) “It didn’t take a second for me to choose where to invest this grant. The basic school is a stone’s throw away from where I live, and as a past student, I saw the need and I wanted to help,” he said. After Construction Photo Earlington shared, “My daughter is two and will be attending the school soon and I don’t want her or any other student to be uncomfortable, so I’m assisting them with a bathroom.” Principal of the school, Gloria Carter, was overwhelmed with emotions when she saw the finished facility saying, “I don’t know if words can express how we feel right now. Over the years we have been struggling. We started trying to build a facility and just could not find the funds to complete it. I am overwhelmed and appreciative because have this facility built feels so much better than even getting the money. What we have desired and prayed about for so long is now a reality.” Students at Evelyn Peterkin Basic School 6