John Gray Recyclers on their way to Fiji

The John Gray Recyclers receive a $5,000 donation
from the Ministry for Education, Human Resources and
Culture for their trip to Fiji. From L-R are Christine
Whitehead, co-ordinator, Jeremy Forbes, president,
Cheyenne Rankine, vice-president, Chantal Pearson,
secretary, Melissa Smith, recycling manager, Melissa
Brown, environmental health manager and Cathrine
Welds, environmental manager with Permanent
Secretary Joy Basdeo.

Thursday, May 13, 2004

The John Gray Recyclers’ commitment to preservation, as well as their willingness to help others, earned them a sizeable donation from the Ministry of Education, Human Resources and Culture for a trip to Fiji.

The Recyclers will use the $5,000 donation towards their July trip to the small village of Naikorokoro on Ovalau in the South Pacific.

There they will attend the opening of a kindergarten classroom, built with funds they raised internationally using the Internet.

“Through modern technology we managed to unite schools in the United States and Britain, raising more than $7,000 for the construction of the classroom,” said Recyclers’ President Jeremy Forbes.

“This classroom will give the children of Naikorokoro a chance to receive a much-needed education.”

The Recyclers’ preservation effort on the Web also ensured the protection of 17 square miles of coral reefs in the Fiji Islands.

“It is very important for island nations to be aware of the value of coral reef systems. They protect us from storms and ensure an income through tourism,” explained Mr Forbes.

The Recyclers took the Fiji project under their wing after their website, www.johngrayrecyclers.org won a Commonwealth Youth Service award, including a prize of $1,300.

“We decided to use the prize money on a coral reef protection project that we could call our very own,” said co-ordinator Christine Whitehead.

“We contacted the Seacology Foundation via e-mail and were given our very own Coral Reef Preservation/ Educational Project in Naikorokoro.

“The Executive Director of the Seacology Foundation Duane Silverstein, thought it was remarkable that young people in the Caribbean were prepared to give their award to children halfway across the world.”

The Recyclers say they are proud of their achievement and look forward to visiting the village of 120 people, which has only one telephone box and one electric generator for the whole village.

“With this project we are not only actively helping to protect the world’s coral reefs, but are also helping people who otherwise do not have the means to build a classroom themselves,” said Mr Forbes.

Through the Recyclers’ efforts the Naikorokoro villagers will furthermore soon have e-mail.

“We are paying for a second telephone line to be installed for the villagers and we will be providing a computer with software that will enable the children to communicate daily with the John Gray Recyclers and other young people around the world to preserve the world’s coral reefs,” explained Mr Forbes.

The John Gray Recyclers are high school students, and other young people studying or working on the island, who commit time to the protection of the environment.

Their current project is earning them worldwide recognition on several important environmental websites, including the sites of the Global School Net, the Marine Education Society of Australasia and the North American Association of Environmental Education.

The project will also be featured in the Asian edition of National Geographic magazine and in Cayman Airways and Air Pacific’s in-flight magazines as both Cayman Airways and Air Pacific are sponsoring the John Gray Recyclers.

“Travelling to Fiji gives us the opportunity to be ambassadors for the entire Caribbean.

“It also introduces the children there to the modern educational technology that we are so fortunate to have in the Cayman Islands,” said Mr Forbes.

The John Gray Recyclers are busy raising funds to equip the kindergarten.

Anyone that wants to contribute can contact the John Gray Recyclers at johngrayrecyclers@hotmail.com or Mrs Whitehead at the John Gray High School on 949-9444.

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