The USS Curts docked at the Lucayan Harbour on Wednesday with 220 crewmembers. Twelve crewmembers took part of their day on Thursday to carry out refurbishment and repairs at both the Martin Town Primary and the Eight Mile Rock High schools.
Ensign Clinton Burr said whenever the crew is in port in other countries they concentrate on helping out at schools.
“Weﾒre here just to do volunteer work that the school needs. At the primary school it just looked like they needed help with just general cleaning and ﾅ with mowing the lawn and cleaning the grass and outside areas,” Mr. Burr said.
Mr. Burr said the crew is on a six-month deployment, which began in April and it is the first time the ship has made a stop in the Bahamas. He said it means a lot to the crew to take their free time and give something back to the country they have docked in.
“[Our] one day work assignment in port is usually for three days. It usually gives the guys two days to go out and enjoy the Bahamas. So what it is when they come and do this volunteer event, theyﾒre actually spending half of their two days, or one half of their day out of two days working approximately from 8 to 12,” Mr. Burr explains.
“It means a lot. Itﾒs definitely very rewarding for us to do it. We know too that our efforts helping out the kids [mean] a lot. Thatﾒs why we tend to like doing schools. But also it does make you appreciate how much that you have back home in the [United] States and how much things are different and how people in different cultures live. It means a lot to the guys onboard the Curtis. It showsﾅthey take the time out to sacrifice their liberty, especially when theyﾒre on a long deployment, to come out and help out,” Mr. Burr said.
Recently, District Superintendent of East and West Grand Bahama, Hezekiah Dean, said extensive work had to be carried out to the Martin Town Primary School, which was badly damaged during hurricanes Frances, Jeanne and Wilma.
Mary Russell, the schoolﾒs principal, told the Journal that the assistance of the USS Curts crew went a long way in helping school officials get ready for the new school year.
“They came over to assist us with a cleaning up effortﾅand whereby in the near future where weﾒre going to engage in a cleanup effort, they came in to assist,” Mrs. Russell said.
“And so theyﾒre assisting in cutting the grass, picking up the loose trash thatﾒs lying around the yard, and weﾒre very, very grateful because itﾒs going to cause us to not work as hard so weﾒre grateful to them,” she said.
According to Mrs. Russell, construction crews have had their hands full painting the school, adding four new classrooms and an entire classroom block, and installing windows. She also said that they would be ready for September.
“We were devastated in the three hurricanes and weﾒve undergone massive, massive renovations. I think the teachers and the faculty and the entire staff need to be commended because in spite of, we went on,” Mrs. Russell said.
“They worked under adverse conditions. But now the renovations are ongoing and it is much, much better.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Burr said the crew did some clean up to the restroom areas at the Eight Mile Rock High School as well.
The USS Curts is assigned to counter narcotics patrol in the Caribbean and it also provides service in the Arabian Gulf.
By: Courtnee Romer, The Bahama Journal
