Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves did not take the Ministry of Education’s word for it when it said the kitchen at the temporary campus at Arnos Vale was ready to prepare meals for the Union Island students taking classes there.
He instructed the ministry to order meals from caterers last week as the students return to class for the first time since Hurricane Beryl ravaged their island on July 1, damaging or destroying 90% of the buildings.
Gonsalves praised the work done at the former Teachers’ College campus at Arnos Vale, saying that the compound is well-fenced.
“And we want when the students enter there – they’re already traumatised from all of what happened down in Union Island.
“I want them there to be safe and secure. So, we are providing meals for everybody there — the students, secondary, primary,” he said, noting that the government has a pre-existing school meals programme for primary schools.
The prime minister pointed out that the students can leave the campus and have lunch elsewhere if they wish.
“But we put the facilities,” he said.
Gonsalves continued:
“In fact, so concerned that I was that though we have equipped the kitchen — a lovely kitchen and eating area and everything — new stove, deep freeze, fridge, usual stuff — and the ministry said, ‘Yeah, yeah, we will be in order.’
“I said to them, ‘Listen to me. There’re so many little things you would be doing. Take your time this week and get everything right with the kitchen. For the remainder of the week, cater. You have food court not too far away,” he said, apparently referring to the food court at Joshua Centre.
“Wherever you want to cater from. When you have the teachers and the students assuming that all are there, just over 200 meals a day. Is not — I mean, it’s manageable.
“We sent men to the moon in 1969. I mean not we physically, but human beings. Not we from St Vincent,” Gonsalves said.
500 meals daily in Union Island
Meanwhile, Gonsalves said his government has built a community kitchen in Clifton to supply 500 meals per day to residents of Union Island.
“We have been supplying individual shelters in Union. There are 262 persons there. Most people have been cooking for themselves in makeshift situations. So, the shelters are getting their food now from the central kitchen, community kitchen — lunch, I went there to the kitchen and see it,” Gonsalves said.
“We really have done a good job in setting that up. And workers are getting meals and other persons – shut-ins — but to make sure we have enough food, the 140 workers who coming over every morning from Canouan to Union by way of Bequia Express, they take their meals and bougainvillea, the guest, House/Hotel, they have also been engaged to provide meals.”
Gonsalves said that based on his experience, he tells everyone “when you have a disaster, don’t skimp on food.
“Don’t skimp on water. We need food, and we need — it better to have more food than to have less food,” he said.
It’s a shame what is happening to these children. The big speaker does what has become his trademark once more. Talking about his shoes being black or his tie being striped or something along those lines. Save us.