Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment & Culture

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Members of staff of the Child Development Agency (CDA) in Kingston and the South East region carrying out various landscaping tasks at one of two Labour Day projects at the Glenhope Place of Safety in Kingston. From left are: Rosalee Gage-Grey, Director of Human Resources and Administration; Winston Bowen, Director of Programmes; Robert Williams, Manager, Glenhope Place of Safety, and Darrel Waller, Children's Officer, South East Region.

Staff at the Child Development Agency (CDA) today (May 23) joined personnel at the Glenhope Nursery in giving a much needed facelift to the facility for Labour Day 2007.

When JIS News arrived at the Maxfield Avenue compound at about 9:00 a.m, the project was already underway, with workers bushing overgrown hedges and weeding the entrance of the property, which also houses the Glenhope Place of Safety and painting the walls of the nursery's play area. Fresh coats of bright yellow, green and blue paint were being added to the walls, which had once been beautifully decorated with a mural of cartoon characters.

"We are using some very bright and lively colours, which would help to stimulate them," said Director for Human Resources and Administration at the CDA, Rosalee Gage-Grey.

She told JIS News that the mural will be put back on the wall but "that won't be done today, because we have to get the paint dried, but we have an artist, who is going to do that for us."

She informed some 20 persons from the agency were volunteering their labour, "but we are expecting others to join us as the day progresses."

The youngest volunteer at the site, Ramona Waller, who was passing tape to workers to separate the colors being painted, told JIS that she was happy to be there helping her mother, a CDA staffer. Three small children from the home also assisted using soapy scotch brite to remove crayon and pencil marks that marred the walls.

Lesiane Royer, Manager of the Nursery, told JIS News that there are 53 children in the nursery, who used the enclosed play area, which consist of swings and other play equipment. "In the evenings.the play area is used, in the mornings not as much because it's very, very hot, so we've been looking about getting covering," she informed.

Expressing gratitude on behalf of her staff for the facelift, she noted that the work was long overdue. "We needed it to be refurbished because the children spend a lot of time out here, so as you can see from the walls. they mark the walls and they do all kinds of things, which are regular kids stuff. So, it needed a bad facelift. we'll be looking so much better. I'm sure the children will feel a lot better coming out. Hopefully the clean, new environment will keep them away from markings and so on," she said.

The Glenhope Nursery, which is located at 89 Maxfield Avenue, is home to wards of the state as young as three months, and as old as seven years old.

Other Labour Day projects to be carried out by the CDA across the island include the painting of dormitories at the Swift Purscell Boys' Home in Highgate, St. Mary and the Muirton Boys' Home in Manchioneal Portland. In Clarendon, the St Augustine Place of Safety in Chapelton is to be painted and the library partitioned to create an office space, while landscaping activities will be done at the Blossom Gardens Child Care facility in Montego Bay, St James.

This year's Labour Day is being celebrated under the theme: 'Honouring our Ancestors.Strengthening our Communities'.

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