Sandals Fights Mosquito In Schools

Traps Donated To Balata, Marchand Primary Schools.

AS the threat of Zika remains prevalent in many of our communities, Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia has taken the initiative to help protect school children from the spread of the AedesAegypti mosquito on their compounds.

The Aedesaegypti mosquito is the vector that transmits the viruses that cause Zika, Dengue fever and Chikungunya among other diseases. These viruses are passed on to humans through the bites of an infective female Aedes mosquito, which mainly acquires the virus while feeding on the blood of an infected person. Efforts to control this vector are ongoing and critical to maintain satisfactory health standards nationally.

This week General Manager of Sandals Halycon Christopher Elliott, along with the Hotel Manager of Sandals Regency La Toc Stephen Husbands, journeyed to the Balata and Marchand Combined Schools, where they presented the respective Principals with mosquito traps to place on the schools’ premises.

Principals at both schools, were on hand to receive the In2Care Mosquito Traps for Zika control. This action comes on the heels of an upsurge in the mosquito population across the Caribbean, and an increase in the diseases associated with these insects. The Principals were anxious to receive the assistance from Sandals, given their expressed inherent roles in keeping their children safe while on their school compounds.

Elliott says helping vulnerable school children is particularly important. “As one of our sponsored schools, we partnered with FDL Pest Control and the SLHTA to bring the In2Care Traps here to assist with the control of the mosquito. We use them at the resort for our guests and our team members and so we wanted to increase the level of safety at our schools as well.”

Husbands spoke to the corporate social responsibility of the company and its continued efforts to assist in the upkeep of the school’s environment in ways that will impact the children’s health and hygiene.

Principals of both primary schools say these traps will be very useful and look forward to seeing the benefits in an overall reduced mosquito population in their school environs. They also thanked FDL Pest Control for their hands-on approach to setting up the traps and informing the students about their function.