Hurricane-hit teachers to begin receiving JTA financial aid next week

 

By Kimone Witter 

 

 

Teachers whose properties were damaged during Hurricane Melissa, and who applied for financial assistance through the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), should start receiving the payouts next week.

 

Based on data from the Jamaica Teachers' Association, up to 2,500 teachers in St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland were severely affected by the hurricane.

 

JTA President Mark Malabver says the impact varies from loss of houses and roofs to loss of personal belongings. 

 

Mr. Malabver, who appeared on TVJ's Smile Jamaica on Tuesday, was asked how the affected teachers were coping.

 

"Not well. In many instances, we still have teachers that are living in cars. I can tell you many horror stories that a number of our teachers have gone through, and in spite of that, they still have to return to the classroom. And it's just a sad state of affairs as it is for now," he bemoaned.

 

In a subsequent interview with Radio Jamaica News, Mr. Malabver said, like other stakeholders in the education sector, many teachers are struggling to rebuild their lives, which is affecting productivity.

 

He said the JTA is committed to assisting the affected teachers to recover.

 

"We are in the process of distributing some funds to our members who have applied. The first batch should be going out in very short order in terms of those funds. We also will be launching a donor site where members of the diaspora or anyone can donate to the cause," he disclosed. 

 

In November last year, the JTA said it would spend $35 million to support teachers severely affected by Hurricane Melissa.

 

The Asociation said, of the $35 million allocated, $3 million would be used for immediate relief supplies. Another $2 million would be dedicated to logistical support, including transportation and distribution.

 

The JTA said the remaining $30 million would go toward infrastructure recovery and rebuilding assistance.

 

Mr. Malabver said a list of the affected teachers is to be submitted to the Ministry of Education for relief support.

 

"We would have been in dialogue with the Ministry of Education. We are looking to send over that list to the Ministry so that they can get the ball rolling in terms of how they can assist in the process of providing relief through the Ministry of Labour. So that's one area as well. Of course, we continue to have psychosocial support for our members. There will be a session tomorrow, online session, with respect to psychosocial assistance and support. We also have the counselling on demand; a number of our teachers have accessed that. So we're just trying to keep our fingers on the pulse of the teachers to see how best we can offer as much support as we can," said the JTA president.