For nearly seven years, young children in Brooklyn, Soufriere, have attended early childhood classes in a cramped, makeshift church basement, their original learning facility destroyed when Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia in 2017. Next week, that long period of temporary displacement will finally come to a close, as the brand-new Dominique Marchand Pre-School is formally transferred to the island’s Ministry of Education to begin serving local families.
Located adjacent to Soufriere Primary School, the new facility carries a meaningful name that honors a local legacy: it was named for Dominique Marchand, who was killed alongside Daniel Langlois in Soufriere’s Bois Cotlette area in 2023. The project was spearheaded by Sam Raphael, proprietor of the popular local eco-resort Jungle Bay Resort and Spa, who stepped in after the region’s member of Parliament reached out to the resort seeking support for the long-unmet community need.
In an interview outlining the project’s journey, Raphael shared that from its earliest stages, the pre-school development was a more ambitious undertaking than Jungle Bay’s typical community initiatives. What began as a request for support grew into a major community investment totaling more than half a million U.S. dollars, with early momentum launched by the resort’s own seed funding. “It’s way in excess of half a million dollars and we didn’t know where the funds were going to come from,” Raphael explained. “Jungle Bay, we put in the first dollar got the ball rolling and got the assistance along the way…”
The effort drew broad community and visitor support, with many guests of Jungle Bay — who often develop deep affection for Soufriere during their stays — stepping up to contribute to the creation of a permanent early learning space for local children. Resort staff also joined the effort, pooling contributions to help bring the project across the finish line.
Today, core construction of the pre-school is fully complete, and the facility is described as a beautiful, modern space ready to welcome children aged two to five. A small amount of remaining work, including perimeter fencing and the construction of an outdoor playground, will continue after the official handover, which is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, August 11. Once transferred to the Ministry of Education, the pre-school will be operated by the government to serve generations of young learners in the Soufriere community.
The project marks a key milestone in the region’s long-term recovery from Hurricane Maria, which destroyed much of Saint Lucia’s public infrastructure nearly a decade ago, and demonstrates how private sector and community collaboration can address unmet public needs for underserved local populations.