The Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School has had one of its needs for three water systems filled – thanks to the generosity of the Anguilla Security Board.
The provision of the first water system was announced on Tuesday this week, September 27, when representatives of the parties involved met at a cheque presentation ceremony at the Social Security Office. They were the Principal of the school, Mrs. Joyce Webster-Stuart; Chairman of the school’s Board of Governors, Reverend Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, Superintendent of the Anguilla Methodist Circuit; Acting Director of Social Security, Ms. Maglan Lewis; Public Relations Officer, Ms. Rosanna Browne who chaired the event; and Mr. Ronald Lynch, Principal DLG, who was involved in the research and design of the water system.
“The Anguilla Social Security Board, in keeping with improving the quality of life for all, has agreed to provide funding for a water system for the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School,” Ms. Browne stated. “It has been an unfortunate situation for a long period of time, and the school has reached out to the Social Security Board to provide funding for one of three of the systems required.”
The Acting Director of Social Security congratulated all the teachers, the principal and members of the Board who were behind the drive to have the first such water system made available to the school. “I can say that the Social Security Board has a concern for education and children and their development. Water, being an essential part of our life, the Board readily embraced this project as one that was necessary, and much-needed, and agreed to supply this portable water system.” She observed that it was not just “a simple system but one that has had to be configured to fit the needs of the school.”
The Principal thanked the Social Security Board for meeting one of the needs of the school. “I saw the need to have water in our school because, with all the illnesses that are coming about, some as a result of the lack of drinking water, I thought that we should make sure that our children did not fall prey to any of those illnesses due to our lack of involvement in terms of providing water for them to drink. Thanks to Social Security for agreeing to help us fund the water system and thanks also to DLG for designing it.”
A big thank you was also expressed by Rev. Dr. Gumbs, Chairman of the School Board. “The Board says a thousand thanks to all the players,” he offered. “We need another, and another, system and we are asking other donors to help us. For us, excellence has to do with not only learning, but water. Without water, everything else falls apart. Mrs. Stuart is part of the Board as well, and we are striving for a lot of things to happen.”
Speaking on behalf of DLG, Mr. Lynch said he was grateful to be part of the project. “The research into this involved our consulting engineers in Miami, and I think we came up with a pretty nice system. It is safe and we have kept it up to Environmental Protection Standards,” he said.
The price of the water system, paid for by the Social Security Board, is EC$15,259.90. There are some 1200 students in total at both campuses of the school plus the teachers. This means that “there is a need for a lot of drinking water at the school” and hence the need for two additional water systems, the Principal pointed out – hoping that other donors would come on board to assist with providing them to the school.
