Fastcash St Vincent has donated funding for the purchase of new reading books for the rejuvenation of the library at Barrouallie Anglican Primary School (BAPS).

This donation is in keeping with the commitment of Fastcash Caribbean, a regional partner of Hands Across the Sea, which is an organization dedicated to advancing child literacy across the English-speaking Eastern Caribbean.

Country manager of Fastcash St Vincent Kevin Jessamy reiterated: “The need to foster education, especially amongst our youth, and the establishment of a strong base where literacy and the love of reading as the educational foundation for our future leaders is something that we at Fastcash Caribbean proudly support.”

This is the second year that Fastcash St Vincent, along with Fastcash Caribbean’s six other business units across the region, has invested in child literacy with Hands Across the Sea.

“Fastcash is a strong partner with us in child literacy and together we are giving thousands of primary school and secondary school students access to great new books and a lending library,” said Harriet Linskey, co-founder and executive director of Hands Across the Sea.

This year, Hands Across the Sea sent a total of 4,584 brand new reading books, serving 3,285 children in 15 primary schools, secondary schools, and youth programmes, to schools in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The 2015-2016 Hands Wish Lists shipment, which fulfills the “wish list” of books requested by educators, is the best — the highest quality, the most targetted — in Hands Across the Sea’s eight years of operation. To raise child literacy levels in a sustainable fashion, the organization’s CLASS (Caribbean Literacy and School Support) Programme utilizes three steps: 1. Send New, Amazing Books; 2. Create/Rejuvenate Lending Libraries; and 3. Sustain the Literacy Gains.