Olympic champion Julien Alfred donates 50 books to St Lucian schoolchildren

CASTRIES, St Lucia. Olympic sprint champion Julien Alfred has donated 50 books to St Lucian children during a visit to her alma mater, Ciceron Primary School.

Alfred gave 50 copies of "Peanut and the Julien Alfred Visit" to Diverse Classroom Books, a St Lucian charity that provides schools with new, engaging and diverse children's books.

The book, written by St Lucian author AL. Dawn French and commissioned by 1st National Bank, tells the story of Alfred's sporting journey and her historic achievement as St Lucia's Olympic sprint champion.

Charity's island-wide visits

Diverse Classroom Books founder Shnell Donacien said the donation held special significance for the organisation.

Donacien, who comes from Choiseul but grew up in London, is a trained primary school teacher with more than 18 years of experience in education. She has worked in England, India and China, where she has spent the past eight years.

"Over the past year, we have visited more than 20 schools, beginning in Choiseul and extending to communities including Vieux Fort, Soufrière, Canaries, Blanchard and Babonneau," she said. "We plan to distribute Julien's books during upcoming school visits across the island."

Donacien thanked 1st National Bank and Alfred, saying the books would introduce pupils to an inspiring St Lucian role model and encourage them to pursue their dreams and develop a love of reading.

"We are especially pleased that Julien recognises the importance of literacy and the value of inspiring children to read," she said.

The charity is encouraging St Lucian schools in need of books to get in touch and is inviting businesses and organisations to partner with it to expand its programme and improve school libraries.

For Alfred, the donation marked a different kind of achievement, one defined by the impact of her story rather than speed.