Somerset-based charity in the UK, School in a Bag, has partnered with the Lena Marshall Foundation for Women and Children to send 1,000 SchoolBags to Jamaica in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.

Following the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which has left many families displaced and children without access to school resources, the Lena Marshall Foundation, based in Grenada, identified an urgent need to provide educational support, and contacted School in a Bag for support.

Working in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Jamaica, the Lena Marshall Foundation will help ensure the SchoolBags reach children in communities most affected by the hurricane, enabling them to return to their studies as quickly as possible.

Each SchoolBag contains essential learning materials, including exercise books, pencils, pens, ruler, maths set, water bottle, lunchbox and hygiene items, giving children the tools they need to continue their education and regain a sense of normality amidst the crisis. The SchoolBags are more than supplies. They represent hope, routine and a step towards rebuilding lives and social communities. In addition, children are often unable to express their feelings verbally in the wake of disasters but through the stationery contents, children can write about or draw their feelings providing a therapeutic outlet for their emotions and anxieties.

The SchoolBags have left School in a Bag HQ and are now enrolee to the Caribbean.