‘Bouncing back better’ - Cove Primary transformed after Melissa’s blow

WESTERN BUREAU:

A beaming Dr Michelle Pinnock last Thursday said she could now “thank God for Melissa” as a result of what has been created at Cove Primary in Hanover, pointing to the larger classrooms, additional space, and concrete structures after the school was rebuilt.

She said the institution has emerged from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa stronger than it was before.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Pinnock, the regional director of education, said the destruction caused by the category-5 hurricane created an opportunity to improve the environment in which children learn.

“I now have larger classrooms. I have more classrooms. I have concrete buildings. I’m bouncing back better,” she said.

Pinnock said the transformation demonstrated what could happen when recovery efforts were used to address existing needs while preparing schools to withstand future disasters.

Cove Primary suffered extensive damage when Melissa swept across western Jamaica in October 2025.

The rebuilding was undertaken through a partnership involving the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) and the Sandals Foundation. AFJ said it invested $52 million in the reconstruction.

Pinnock, however, said the investment should ultimately be measured by what happens inside the new classrooms.

“The true measure of this investment will be seen in our children,” she said.

She urged teachers, parents and members of the community to ensure that the improved physical environment translates into stronger educational outcomes for students.

The regional director also raised concern about the theft of solar equipment from the school, condemning the targeting of resources intended to benefit children and strengthen the institution’s resilience.

“When you take from a school, it impacts our society as a whole,” Pinnock said urging the community to protect the school.

The Sandals Foundation has since installed new solar-energy technology at the school. The renewable-energy system is intended to reduce operating costs while allowing the school to maintain critical services during disruptions to the electricity grid.

AFJ President Wendy Hart said the organisation had moved from immediate hurricane relief into recovery when Cove Primary emerged as a school in need of major intervention.

She described the project as an example of “serendipity”, something valuable emerging unexpectedly from difficult circumstances.

“In the days after Melissa, it felt as though there was nothing good to be found, but it’s often in the hardest times that serendipity appears,” Hart said.

The rebuilding brought AFJ together with the Sandals Foundation, which was also looking at assisting the Hanover school. Hart credited other partners including McKinsey & Company’s consultant Sheldon Lyn, the NCB Foundation, and Hanover Charities for their contributions towards the project.

For Principal Patrice Campbell, the handover represented far more than the restoration of buildings recalled looking at the devastation after Melissa and wondering how the school would recover and how long its students would have to wait before returning to their classrooms.

“Our classrooms were damaged. Our learning environment was disrupted. The future of our school seemed uncertain,” she said.

She described the completed project as the restoration of hope and opportunity.

Campbell also said the experience of Melissa demonstrated the need to rebuild schools for the climate realities they now face.

“Because hurricanes and severe weather events are becoming more frequent, schools must be built to withstand the future, not the past,” she said.

The principal said the handover was “not simply to witness the handover of a building, but to celebrate the restoration of hope, the rebuilding of a community and the renewing of opportunities” for the children of Cove Primary.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com