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What began as a simple act of kindness has blossomed into a growing educational movement. Kimoy Sweeney, founder of B & J's Reading and Mathematics Tutoring, never set out to start a formal program. She just wanted to help. And that genuine desire to uplift struggling readers has since grown into something bigger, something deeply meaningful to students and parents alike.

It all started a few years ago in her home, with just a handful of students needing help in reading. “A parent asked me one day if I won’t take anything for the time I was putting in,” Kimoy recalls. “Eventually, I turned it into an actual program.” That quiet nudge of appreciation led to something powerful: the expansion of the tutoring service to include Mathematics, as Kimoy began noticing that reading and reasoning challenges were affecting students' ability to grasp math concepts.

Unlike traditional classrooms with rigid rules and uniform routines, B & J’s is rooted in flexibility, empathy, and student empowerment. “One of the main goals has always been to provide a different environment from the day-to-day classroom setting,” Kimoy explains. That means students get to choose their seating and even decide how they want to begin each session.

Sometimes, they need to talk about their day before diving into phonics or fractions, and that’s okay here. Kimoy makes time for it. Because at B & J’s, academic success isn’t just about what’s written on a worksheet, it’s also about feeling heard, safe, and supported.

The core of Kimoy’s approach is encouraging independence and curiosity. Students are taught to ask questions, seek clarity, and engage with their learning actively. The goal? Not just to pass exams, but to take what they’ve learned and use it in real life.

This philosophy pays off, sometimes in quiet moments of doubt. “There are times I feel like I’m not reaching them because of limited resources,” Kimoy admits. “But then when students and parents give feedback or share their results from school, I get to see that they are indeed making progress.”

And that progress speaks volumes. It’s seen in improved grades, renewed confidence, and children who walk into tutoring sessions with excitement instead of dread.

The future of B & J's Tutoring is bright, and Kimoy is already dreaming big. Top of the list? A dedicated learning space filled with hands-on materials and room to grow. With an increasing number of students, the need for a proper facility is becoming more apparent.

But her vision doesn’t stop there. “I also want to eventually extend my services to having one-on-one sessions with adults in the area of reading,” she says. Literacy, after all, is a lifelong skill, and Kimoy wants to make sure no one, child or adult, is left behind.

Kimoy Sweeney has created more than just a tutoring service, she’s created a safe haven for learning, a place where students are encouraged to be themselves, to explore, to ask, and to grow.

B & J's is proof that impact doesn’t require a big budget or a polished space. Sometimes, all it takes is one person with heart, vision, and a desire to help—someone like Kimoy.

And for every child who now reads with confidence or tackles math problems with a smile, it’s clear: this journey is only just beginning.

 📧 For more information Contact Ms. Sweeney @ (869) 668-4164

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (May 14, 2021) — A Nevis family’s charitable organization, Caribbean Foundation for Children Inc., continues to find ways to assist children in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Mr. Michael Henville, President of the Caribbean Foundation for Children Inc., and Mr. Jahreem Encarnacion, Vice President, explained the role the foundation continues to play in the lives of primary school students when they spoke to the Department of Information on May 14, 2021.

“Recently what we have also started to do was helping those in need. Right now, we are looking to sponsor quite a few children to be placed on the School Meals Programme for the public primary schools…

“Two weeks ago or so, at the Botanical Gardens we held our very first fund raising event which we are proud to say was a success and we’ve raised some very good funds for the School Meals Programme to help to, like I said, to sponsor children who are not able to afford the monthly fee of the School Meals Programme to be put on to the School Meals Programme so they can have a very nice well balanced full hot meal for that day, Henville said.

Also a shipment of school supplies is en route to the island to assist teachers.

Mr. Encarnacion expounded on the foundation’s aim, citing that it is meant to benefit children in the present.

“The goal is to make sure that all the children have a clear and concise and consistent quality of life and that’s what the foundation really aims to try to achieve with the hearing aids that we mentioned before and now with the school lunches and whatever other projects that we see can benefit children moving forward on the island. That is what the foundation’s goal is.

“We are trying to achieve that through small steps. As they say, small drips fill buckets. So we are just trying to chip away at it so that we can eventually make sure that the children here have a future and a quality of life while they are living in the present,” he said.

The organization–which was founded in Florida in 2008 by Mr. Jonathan Henville, with the help of his mother Mrs. Evelyn Henville, the foundation’s corporation director–was launched in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2009. The mission is to champion all causes related to children with specific emphasis on health, medicine, education and community.

One year later in partnership with the Starkey Foundation, Caribbean Foundation for Children Inc. was able to provide US$800,000 worth of free hearing aids to the hearing impaired in St. Kitts and Nevis and equipment to the St. James’ Primary School.

 The Caribbean Foundation  for Children, Inc. (CFC) late  last week donated a total of  EC$35,000 to the eight public primary schools on Nevis,  to assist in the School Meals  Programme.  President of the Foundation  Michael Henville and  Vice President Jahreem  Encarnacion handed over  eight cheques for the above mentioned value to Principal  Education Officer Zahnela  Claxton. Henville told  The Observer that $35,000  was collected at a fundraising activity hosted by the  foundation in May 2021  at the Botanical Garden in  Nevis, and the School Meals  Programme was chosen to be  supported. “Last week we contributed  to the Ministry of Education  to help with school meals  programme.  The money will be used for  bringing on new children to  the programme, for the less  fortunate, to pay for them for  a term or two terms; or they  could use it too if there are  any parents that are found  to have some hard times  that rack up a few bills and  couldn’t pay a month or two  for their kids’ school meals,  and that money could go and  cover their fee. That kind of  thing. But specifically helping out the school meals  programme in some way,”  Henville said. He noted that  the foundation is keeping its  promise to the community  about giving back.  “Definitely this is a perfect  example of the community  giving back to the community. “  Henville disclosed that  shortly the foundation will be  expanding its reach past the  federation to other islands,  and raising as much awareness and funds as possible for  those in need.  The CFC was founded in  2002 and is the brainchild of  Jonathan Henville.