The Book Industry Association of Jamaica (BIAJ) will be presenting a Book Cart filled with Jamaican and international children’s books to the Bustamante Hospital for Children on Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 10:00am at the hospital’s Learning and Activity Centre.
 
The handover will be coordinated by BIAJ founding member and Custos of Kingston, the Hon. Steadman Fuller and Mrs. Fuller; BHC CEO Anthony Wood and Chairman of the BIAJ, Dr. Norman Marshall.
 
The Book Cart initiative was created to facilitate the continuing education of children in paediatric wards islandwide. The BIAJ has provided carts to every major Jamaican hospital. The carts include both textbooks and books for leisure reading for children.
 
The Bustamante Hospital has a comprehensive learning centre that has been making every effort to continue the learning process of its young wards.
 
“Our Learning and Activity Centre serves as a school for children age 3 -12,” said Kathleen Cooper Brown, Patient Affairs Hospital of the Bustamante Hospital for Children and supervisor for the centre. “We have children with different medical needs – from broken bones to cancer treatment, who have to continue their education. The textbooks especially will help us with that process.”
 
The donation is part of a weeklong series of activities that comprise the Kingston Book Festival – the book industry’s marquee event in recognition of the 50th anniversary of independence. The Festival ends with a large book fair in Emancipation Park on Saturday, March 17.