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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/kamina-johnson-smith-damian-moore-buzz-1-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6344" /><figcaption><br>Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (left) and Principal of Comfort Castle Primary and Junior High School Dalmain Moore. The pair display a cheque for $343,350, which was donated to the school by Canadian charity, the Tamara Gordon Foundation.  (Photo: Jamaica Information Service [JIS])</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Students of Comfort Castle Primary and Junior High School in Portland are the beneficiaries of a $343,350 donation from a Canadian charity, the Tamara Gordon Foundation.</p>
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<p>Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, presented the cheque to Principal Dalmain Moore at a ceremony in New Kingston on Tuesday, August 27.</p>
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<p>Minister Johnson, who made the presentation
on behalf of the foundation, said the generous gesture demonstrates the
important role of the diaspora in national development.</p>
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<p>“This significant donation will be very helpful for the programmes you are running at Comfort Castle. It is another example of how our diaspora reaches out to make real change and directly and positively impact the lives of Jamaicans [at home]. It is such a fundamental reason why we appreciate our diaspora so much,” she said.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/comfort-castle-primary-portland-buzz-demo.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6346" /><figcaption>Comfort Castle Primary and Junior High School in Portland (Photo: Josh Hunter)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Senator Johnson Smith lauded the foundation’s director, Tamara Gordon, who has devoted her life to empowering persons with disabilities, despite having suffered personal tragedy.</p>
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<p>Principal Moore expressed his appreciation for the generous donation, adding the money has come at an opportune time, as preparations are underway for the new academic year. </p>
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<p>He told JIS News that funds will be used to
expand the school’s literacy and numeracy programme in the area, purchase a
commercial printer and a desktop computer, among other things.</p>
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<p>“The fact is the community is economically
challenged. Our intention is to see how best we can educate the population,
because by educating the people we are giving the people the power. We are
changing a community and the nation as well,” he said.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/kamina-johnson-smith-damian-moore-buzz-2-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6345" /><figcaption> Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith (left), presents a cheque for $343,350 to Principal  Dalmain Moore, of Portland-based Comfort Castle Primary and Junior High School. The handover ceremony was held at the ministry in New Kingston on Tuesday. The money was donated by Canadian charity, the Tamara Gordon Foundation.  (Photo: JIS)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Gordon, of Jamaican parentage, was born in Canada, and tragically became a paraplegic following a serious motor-vehicle accident.</p>
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<p>Established in 2013, the Tamara Grant
Foundation is a community-based charity which seeks to provide support to
persons with physical disabilities in the greater Toronto area by empowering
and improving their lives by facilitating equal opportunities for persons of
this community, through education.</p>
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<p>The charity provides financial, social and
other practical resources necessary for physically challenged persons to be
self-supporting and to function as contributing members of society. </p>
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<p>The Tamara Grant Foundation primarily
provides scholarships for disabled students to assist with financing their
tertiary education.</p>
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