Hundreds of persons turned out on Tuesday morning at the Rising Sun Grounds to get their hands on the free back-to-school giveaways undertaken by the Social Protection Board.
According to the Operations Manager of the department, Mary Baltimore, the large turnout was more than the department had anticipated.
“We arrived here just after 10:00 am and it was like Carnival with the large turnout of persons waiting for us to arrive to begin the distributions of the schoolbags filled with books and other supplies,” she reported.
The department had intended to distribute between 300 to 400 bags over the course of several hours, but the supplies ran out in a very short time.
Baltimore said the distribution of clothing and shoes will take place on Wednesday at the same venue, however, she is hoping that the distribution can be done in a more orderly manner.
She said each year her department partners with a number of business entities who provide the bags and other supplies for distribution. They are meant primarily for the most vulnerable members of the society; those individuals who encounter difficulties providing the necessities for their school age children to function properly within the education system.
The Social Protection Board is one of the key departments through which the government provides special assistance to the most vulnerable as part of the social safety net.
