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CCSU’s Hamilton helping children in Bahamas

Janet Hamilton, assistant professor of physical education at Clayton State, is determined to see that no child is left behind. In Hamilton’s case, that doesn’t refer to the federal education program, but a group of remarkable youngsters at a school called Every Child Counts on the Bahamian island of Abaco.

“Who wouldn't love a place called Every Child Counts?” asked Hamilton, a resident of Stockbridge and a key part of Clayton State’s public fitness and wellness center, SmartBodies. “In this school there is truly no child left behind.”

In December 2003, Hamilton spearheaded a team that provided medical assistance and training to teachers and parents of the special needs children at Every Child Counts, the school founded by Bahamanian resident Lyn Major and funded entirely by private donations. The team saw children at the school and in outlying towns to the north and south where the children live too far away to attend ECC. Major, who is also the director of the school, had originally approached Hamilton on one a previous visit to Abaco about helping her teachers learn how to best assist the physical and rehabilitation needs of the children at her school.

Although Hamilton is planning to visit ECC herself while on vacation this coming July, she has bigger plans for the school and the children.

“If I can generate the funding again, I'd like to take a team back this fall,” she said. “We all fell in love with the kids. The bigger kids often scoop up the littlest ones who can't walk, and carry them outside at playtime, or when there are activities upstairs. The love these children have for each other and their teachers is so incredibly heart warming.Ê With all the violence and hatred and horror swirling around us, it is an oasis of hope to see them struggle and learn and experience the joy of ‘getting it.’”

Having just shipped a walker to ECC for five-year-old cerebral palsy patient Saveion, Hamilton has obtained a pair of communication switches for another boy with cerebral palsy who cannot verbalize otherwise, and some workbooks and teaching materials from a program called Handwriting Without Tears. Hamilton will be taking these materials with her in July. Still, she says there is a lot more work to do.

“They've recently built a new annex to their building which will hold a workshop for vocational training,” she said. “The island of Abaco does not have a college or even a vocational/technical school; high school is it. These special-needs students will benefit greatly from learning hands-on skills with hand-tools, learning wiring, cooking, construction, etc. These are skills that they can use to make their way in the world when they leave the shelter of ECC.”

Major realized there was a need for this type of facility on the island partly because there are no physical therapists or medical facilities to speak of on the island, just a few private practice doctors. Any medical care needed by the residents must be done in Nassau (on the neighboring island of New Providence, about 100 miles south), or perhaps in Florida if the resident can afford to get there.

“My hope is that I can continue to build the momentum so that we can get the specialists over there several times a year to help train the teachers, families and volunteers how to best help these children,” said Hamilton. “The fact that the school is funded entirely by donations means that they have no budget to hire in outside help.

“There are so many causes I feel strongly about, yet are so large in scope that I feel I can't make a difference. This is one place where I know I can make a difference. Thirty to 35 kids, four teachers, and a three-room school house ... I can have an impact on that!“

Hamilton adds that monetary donations would be very welcome, as the school has very limited funds to buy things like wheelchairs, walkers, assistive devices, and various tools to enable the children to learn effectively. For more information, please contact Hamilton at 770-961-3668 or janethamilton@mail.clayton.edu.