Flow volunteers empower students with SBA workshop support during Mission Week
Over 300 students from various schools across Jamaica have received crucial support with their School Based Assessments (SBA) as part of Flow’s annual Mission Week activities. The workshops, organized under Mission Week’s ‘Learning’ pillar between November 13-17, provided timely educational intervention, helping to alleviate the academic pressure on students.
Flow employee volunteers provided hands-on assistance at St. Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), Spot Valley High, Pembroke Hall Comprehensive High, and the Jackie Norman Youth Entrepreneurial Programme (JNYEP).
SBAs are an integral part of the academic journey and Principal of STATHS, Dr Worrell Hibbert, expressed his gratitude, noting the annual challenges that accompany SBA completion.
“We’re grateful for Flow’s involvement in our SBA process and helping to prepare the children with these workshops,” said Principal Hibbert.
“This collaboration will go a long way in giving the students new perspectives about their project while helping them to gain a deeper understanding of their subjects, which is invaluable.”
For Grade 11 students, SBAs not only represent a culmination of their hard work, but also contribute to their final grades for the CSEC examinations, often leading to heightened stress levels. Pembroke Hall Comprehensive High School student, Sherwin Bird, shared his relief and appreciation, mirroring the gratitude felt by other students across the participating schools.
“As a student, the SBA period is often overwhelming, but the workshops organized by the Flow team members have provided us with some clarity and direction,” shared Bird. “Thanks to the hands-on support and expertise shared, I feel more confident about my projects and less stressed about the deadlines. It’s empowering to know that we have this level of support to help us succeed.”
Flow Employee Volunteers, in close coordination with the schools’ staff, offered their expertise in subjects such as English, Mathematics, Information Technology, and Social Studies, among others. For some, this initiative was a nostalgic return to their own schools, to now serve as mentors and supporters.
Courtney Bell, the Flow Foundation’s Community Programmes Coordinator, reflected on the project’s impact and said: “It was important that we partnered with the schools on this initiative. We really wanted to make a difference to help students hurdle the challenge of completing their SBAs. This is the reason this activity was set up in such a practical way. We wanted to ensure that every student who left the workshop had either completed their assignment or was that much closer to doing so. We are very happy to have been able to contribute to their future success in their CSEC examinations.”
Mission Week activities commenced with a humanitarian gesture, providing meals to the homeless at the Marie Atkins Night Shelter. Under the ‘Access’ pillar, the company has also provided internet services to the JNYEP, Cross Keys Community Centre and the Bellevue Hospital Learning Centres.
Each year, Liberty Latin America dedicates a week for employees across all its various subsidiaries, including Flow Jamaica, to make a difference by volunteering their time, knowledge and skills to community-building initiatives across Latin America, Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean.