‘School in a Box’ programme aims to reduce learning loss

As Jamaica rebuilds in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, which devastated the western end of the island in October 2025, the Save our Boys and Girls Foundation has taken aim at reducing learning loss in severely affected communities, with the launch of a programme dubbed, ‘School in a Box’.

The humanitarian assistance project, which is being delivered in collaboration with EduFocal, is one of 11 that have been awarded grants by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

It will support an estimated 3,800 primary-school students (aged six to 12) who have been displaced by Hurricane Melissa.

Students will receive community-based learning support through self-contained learning kits and trained community mentors, ensuring education continuity and psychosocial support while schools recover.

Patron of the Save our Boys and Girls Foundation and Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural, Juliet Holness, said that School in a Box is a simple, yet profound lifeline for students encountering learning loss or a learning gap.

She was speaking at the CFLI Spotlight Event, held at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew on Thursday.

“A lot of our students have been displaced, and to be in possession of one of these schools in a box is a significant contribution to ensuring that we are able to have learning loss reduced and definitely not be permanent… and this is a big support to the Government,” Holness said.

She noted that while the programme is currently targeting students impacted by Hurricane Melissa, there is scope for expansion.

“School in a Box is a beautiful intervention learning programme that can also be executed in other spaces, and being a rural Member of Parliament myself, I can tell you there are some communities and schools where children continue to struggle, just because of road conditions, to be able to learn in the way that we would want them to,” Holness said.

The Save our Boys and Girls Foundation Patron is, therefore, encouraging corporate Jamaica to get on board and support the initiative.

She expressed gratitude to the Canadian Government and the CFLI for providing the Can$50,000 grant or approximately J$5.7 million to the Foundation.

“This support is not just financial. It is a powerful, very powerful international endorsement of our commitment to Jamaica's children. This project is a shining example of how international partners, the private sector, EduFocal, and civil society and Foundations can unite for a common national cause,” Holness maintained.

Meanwhile, EduFocal co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gordon Swaby, said School in a Box will ensure that children in the West are not left behind.

“When Hurricane Melissa struck, it didn't just damage buildings; it disrupted lives and, most critically, it interrupted the education of thousands of children. And while our schools have shown incredible resilience in reopening, we cannot ignore the learning gap that was left behind. We cannot allow any child's future to be a casualty of a disaster,” he continued.

The CEO said School in a Box is the answer to this challenge as it is a vital remedial bridge to help students catch up.

He explained that each box contains high-quality, curriculum-aligned printed learning materials and essential supplies delivered by a network of 250 trained community mentors.

“It is a targeted, high-impact tool to ensure that 3,800 primary school students not only return to school but return with the confidence and skills to succeed,” Swaby said.

He noted that this is phase one of the project, as the aim is to expand the project nationally.

“We're looking forward to executing this project and seeing the kind of results that will really move our children forward in a material way,” the CEO added.

EduFocal is an online social learning community founded in 2012, which focuses on using technology to enrich the learning experience outside of the classroom.

The Save our Boys and Girls Foundation has been in operation since 2016.

“We focus primarily on assistance in education, setting up computer labs, helping in terms of scholarships for students from high school all the way through to university, and in very few cases where the funds allow, Jamaican students overseas struggling to complete have been assisted as well with their school fees at universities, so that they can make their way back to contribute to nation-building,” Holness explained.

- JIS News

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