DUMFRIES, St James – At least one school was closer to their house but Leezo Wallace’s mother, Ethel Maud Jenkins, deliberately sent all her children to Dumfries Primary School. Now Wallace is doing his part to ensure other youngsters get a chance to benefit from attending the St James-based school.

He has launched the Ethel Maud Jenkins Scholarship in honour of his late mother, awarding a total of US$1,000 (about $150,000) to two sixth graders — Carisa Brown and Tamoy Marshall — who recently graduated from his alma mater. Wallace has given a commitment to providing the scholarships each year going forward, and said he will double the amount next year.

“She must have known something why she sent us to Dumfries Primary School. I am officially launching a scholarship fund in honour of her name because I know how tough it was for her to send us to school — and she did it with pride,” Wallace said of his mother who was the family’s sole breadwinner.

“She didn’t have a big job; she was a domestic helper and we were never absent from school one day. Every day we had lunch money, and we had food, and we had to go to school. So parents and students who are here, I want to say to you: ‘Defy the odds,’ ” he urged during the recent Dumfries Primary Class of 2023 graduation ceremony at the school.

Wallace’s goal is to give a helping hand to students who, while not necessarily the most accomplished academically, show promise.

“Yes, they need to improve on their work and stuff but it doesn’t mean they have to get all As, just have that right attitude and that was the basic criteria for selecting them. I will not change it because that’s made me who I am. I wasn’t the brightest student at school; my success story is really my attitude and my passion. That’s what brought me to where I am today,” he explained.

The annual scholarship is just the latest in a long list of good deeds Wallace has done for Dumfries Primary School. Wallace is a senior director at Unique Vacations, worldwide representatives of Sandals and Beaches Resort, and he has been instrumental in successfully lobbying support from the Sandals Foundation.

The school’s Acting Principal Natalie Pearson Samuels was effusive in her appreciation of his unwavering support for the institution over the years. It is something she hopes more past students will emulate.

“Mr Wallace has been a great friend of our school. In fact, we call him our big brother because he always looks out for us in whatever ways he can. Through his instrumentality the Sandals Group has given us eight teachers’ chairs, day passes to various Sandals hotels on Teacher’s Day, and gift baskets to the teachers at Christmastime,” a thankful Pearson Samuels said.

“The students have also been treated at Christmastime with food and gifts. Now, two grade six PEP students have been awarded US$500 each through the Ethel Maud Jenkins Scholarship in honour of Mr Leezo Wallace’s mother. These students are greatly assisted with their back-to-school preparations. They are elated and promise to continue doing their best in school,” she added.