The woman behind the multibillion-dollar Palmyra Resort and Spa, Ragni Trotta (left), flew into Jamaica to lend support to the Palmyra Foundation fund-raiser at Shoppes at Rose Hall in Montego Bay on December 8. Here she chats with Sheila McNeill, wife of Shadow Minister of Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill.

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

For Kathy Constanzo every child has a success story. On Saturday, December 8, the Palmyra Foundation chairman's voice broke as she related the education plight of several of the island's children.

At $10,000 per person, Constanzo and her team had managed to fill all the chairs set up in the new Shoppes at Rose Hall, leaving standing room only for the large gathering that came out in support of the worthy cause.

Utterly inspired by the feeling of making a difference, she said, "It's the kind of rush that leaves you feeling like you can run miles, climb the highest mountain or swim across any ocean. It is a pure feeling of having done something completely selfless. I feel blessed."

Extra push

Giving her that extra push were her husband Dennis Robert and Ragni Trotta, developers of the Palmyra Resort and Spa, and their committed staff, Samara Daswani, Prime Minister Bruce Golding and his wife Lorna, and a host of well-wishers.

Smirnoff Black joined in support of the foundation's work. Indru Dadlani, Denny Chandiram and Allan Daswani were also out.

The Palmyra Foundation envisions a day when all Jamaican children will have textbooks, uniforms and a proper meal at school. Already it has spent $4.4 million providing 15,000 text books to some 2,000 basic and infant school children in St. James.