Son improves on his late mother’s legacy in Quickstep, St. Elizabeth

Randy Griffiths was taught the value of giving from an early age, and that lesson continued throughout his mother’s life until she died 16 years ago.

It was the norm for her to be packing and shipping barrels to her community of Quickstep, St. Elizabeth, sharing her blessings with the less fortunate there.

When she died, Griffiths said he decided he would pick up the mantle, but on a different level.

“I said we’re going to change up the dynamics, and you know, give kids a good education. Make sure they get a good education. We have a scholarship programme; we have a breakfast programme; we have everything to get them into the world and succeed,” he shared in an interview with Freedom Come Rain.

On Friday, December 2, Griffiths, who previously constructed a basic school through his Pencils4Kids Foundation, took it a step further and built a playground for the children’s recreational activities.

The project cost the foundation about US$90,000 in total, but for the philanthropist, it is more than worth it to see the smile on the children’s faces as they enjoyed the rides after the official cutting of the ribbon.

“Once you start at the basics, it rises to the school bus, scholarship, community overall so you have to start from somewhere,” he said. 

Sharing on the clearance process, Griffiths said he had to move away from shipping and going through customs as the hardship experienced with a “whole heap of paper work problems” gave him more headaches than he wanted.

For him, it was a simple process of shipping through Amazon and dealing with the expenses.

As he looked at the children playing, he expressed gratitude to the stakeholders who made it possible. He also praised the local volunteers on the ground, as he said the project started late—right after school closed for the summer. Seeing them working seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m and making use of the limited time they had to have everything ready for the December 2 launch gave him hope.

Griffiths flew into the island with a mission team of 20 volunteers who paid their way and accommodations, with him only providing meals. He praised their dedication and support, even as he singled out the couple Rodcliff and Icylyn ‘Cherry’ Whitfield, who he said ensured every project carried out ran smoothly.

“Being in the States, you need that foundation. The people who believe in or see your vision actually say this is what we are doing as a team. It’s not just about individual people like Randy, Cherry, or Rodcliff; it’s about teamwork. Once you say ‘this is our vision, let’s work towards it’, without them on the ground, it wouldn’t be possible,” he points out.

The principal of Quickstep Primary School, Alecia Black, said seeing the transformation of the bushy area into a paved, fenced compound retrofitted with various rides was an “overwhelming feeling.”

“Initially within that section, it was a rough surface, and then, due to the inspiration of the basic school here, we decided they were going to need a playground, and Pencils4Kids came on board and took the initiative and ran with it like wildfire,” she notes. Stressing the prior great need of the students to have structured play, she said now through their playing they will be learning lessons such as collaboration, critical thinking, and developing their creativity.

Before the construction of the playing area, Black said the children would make use of the primary school’s, which faces the basic school, and sometimes they would have clashes in playtime. Now, she stressed, they can have their own space, which will be more meaningful for them.

Councillor/caretaker for the Balaclava division in the parish, while praising Griffith, shared that if every person in a community would contribute something towards the growth and development of a child, this would really enhance each community and each child.

“With the support that they are getting from this initiative by Griffiths, it is one that we will have to emulate. This is actually like a pilot programme for almost every community to follow. I am hoping and wishing that at least something like this can take place in some of these communities,” he commented.

Among the initiatives Pencils4Kids has successfully implemented over the years are a school library complete with books, perimeter fencing of the primary school, a school bus, a playing field for the children, and a resource centre.

And if there are days when frustration is tempted to rear its ugly head, Griffith said all he has to do is remember his ‘why’ which is powered by his mother’s legacy.

Looking ahead, Griffiths said the next project the foundation will be looking at is building a multisport complex, with phase one being a cricket pitch and a track and field court. The initiative he projects could run into the region of US$500,000 and could take about 3–5 years to become a reality.