GoodHeart | Oneil Brissett gives back where it all began

Smiles spread across the faces of Denese Dixon and Melissa Rowe as Principal Marcia Henry called their children’s names during morning devotion at Waterford Infant School in Portmore, St Catherine, on Monday. Behind the announcement was businessman Oneil ‘Brisco’ Brissett, whose back-to-school giveback brought some welcome relief for the mothers as they prepared their three-year-olds for the new academic year. Their children were among six students selected at the basic school to receive textbooks, school supplies, and bookbags for the year.

“Oh, Lord! I am feeling elated,” Dixon told GoodHeart after the presentation was made to her daughter, Myla Haughton. Dixon, who is currently unemployed, shared that she did not have the books in time for the new school year, so the gesture is a “big, big” help.

“She (Myla) is a twin, and preparing both of them for a new school year is really hard because it’s times two,” she explained, expressing her gratitude and noting that she can now focus on completing the preparations for Myla’s twin brother, Michael, who also attends the school.

Similarly, Rowe admitted that she sent her daughter, Mackyra Guthrie, out to school on a leap of faith and planned to seek a loan to take care of the expenses.

“This is a big push for me, and I really appreciate it … . So my focus now is on filling the gaps on what she hasn’t gotten,” Rowe said, noting the textbooks were her biggest concern.

For Brissett, Monday’s visit was something of a homecoming. Long before he returned with bookbags and school supplies in hand, he was a student walking the grounds of both Waterford Infant and Waterford Primary.

There are still people and little details from those years that stay with him. He remembers teachers such as Miss Waite and Miss Carnegie, who played a role in his upbringing, as well as his Waterford Primary coach, Linford ‘Lin’ Jones, who he said was very active in his life as a child. He can also recall rabbits being kept at the infant school and a garden at the primary school, small snapshots of the Waterford schools he knew as a boy.

He also remembers the classmates who came to school without all they needed.

“I used to come to school with friends who never had books, and you saw the difference in, sometimes, the outcome or even at present, their movements within class being disrupted because they just don’t have the books,” Brissett said.

Years later, those memories helped shape what he wanted his own contribution to Waterford students to look like. Textbooks were important, but he knew they were only part of what a child needed to arrive at school prepared. So, pencils, rulers, erasers and bookbags became part of the package too.

“We could possibly have just presented textbooks, [but] with how the economy is today, in all honesty, the parents probably just don’t have the bag to put it in,” he explained, highlighting why it was important to cover all corners.

The idea had been on Brissett’s mind for some time. Previous attempts to organise a similar initiative had not materialised, so this time he joined forces with his daughter, Deboneil, operator of pastry business Nuff Cookies, to get it done. The Usain Bolt Foundation and Downsound Entertainment also assisted, along with other foundations and sponsors.

Beyond helping the children, Brissett was also mindful of the relief the supplies could bring at home.

“While the child goes to school, they still have to come home,” he shared, adding that with some school expenses taken care of, parents could direct their resources towards other household needs.

Brissett later made his way to Waterford Primary School, where he handed over textbooks, school supplies and bookbags for 12 students. He hopes to make the giveback an annual undertaking at both schools, while also identifying other projects he can help bring to life.

rollesha.laing@gleanerjm.com