Primary school representatives after receiving their vouchers.
PHILIPSBURG--The Childfund St. Maarten Foundation, based in the Netherlands, has provided vouchers that would allow more than 200 children to receive uniforms for the upcoming 2022/2023 school year.
More than 200 vouchers were distributed to 12 primary schools on Thursday, April 21 at the Hillside Asha Stevens Primary School. Each school received about 10 vouchers, worth USD $100 each. This would allow each pupil to get at least two uniforms per voucher.
This is the second time in which the foundation has been able to provide uniforms for St. Maarten children in need. Last year the foundation was able to contribute vouchers that would cover uniforms for 400 primary and secondary students. This year there were fewer vouchers available for distribution and the foundation focused only on primary schools.
Chairman of the foundation Gerrit-Jan Greven told The Daily Herald newspaper that this was due to a cut in the funding provided by Ministry of Justice and Security in the Netherlands for the initiative this year.
Greven explained that due to the reduced amounts of vouchers this year, the foundation wanted to ensure that those children who needed it most were able to receive this. Schools will then be responsible for distributing the vouchers to their most vulnerable pupils allowing them to purchase uniforms for the new school year.
Greven invited representatives of the primary schools a small ceremony on Thursday in which he expounded on the uniform vouchers and the process in a short presentation. Suppliers of school uniforms were also present for the presentation.
After the presentation representatives of each school was provided with their vouchers. Schools are responsible for selecting the pupils they know could benefit most from this project.
When asked by the newspaper about the appreciation received by persons, the chairman of the foundation said that he seeks no praise or recognition from this initiative. He said he simply saw a problem and sought to find a way in which to provide some help.
He has noted however, that during his visits to the island he has been approached and met several parents and students who have benefited and appreciated the efforts of last year’s vouchers. Persons have gone as far as to send kind emails and messages to him expressing their gratitude for the foundation’s efforts. He said that although it is not what he seeks, it warms his heart to know that he is able to help persons in such a way.
When asked why the foundation chooses to focus on helping children of St. Maarten, he explained that after spending some time working on the island, after the passing of hurricane Irma, he saw first-hand how much the devastation caused by the storm affected everyone, especially school going children.
Greven said that doing his part in ensuring those children in need have proper uniforms to attend school was of great importance to him. In turn, by helping the children, he said, this also helps the entire family and eases the burden of their parents/guardians.
Greven said that although funding for the initiative has been cut, he has high hopes of finding another way in which the foundation can attain funding to continue the project. He said that at the moment there is no guarantee that the foundation will be able to continue in the future, but remains hopeful.
He closed by extending his profound gratitude to the Divi Little Bay Beach Resort. After reaching out to the resort and explaining the initiative, the purpose of his travels to St. Maarten and what the foundation aims to achieve he said that the resort provided a room at no cost for the duration of his stay.
He noted that due to the generosity provided by Divi the foundation was able to utilise the funds saved and put this into additional vouchers that could be provided to schools.
