You Did It Unto Me: The Story of Alpha and the Sisters of Mercy in Jamaica

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For Jamaica, W.I., the nineteenth Century had lurched slowly…painfully…to its last quarter of the Century. It was once a time of trial and tribulation never before seen…sugar in decline…squalour in the yards…rampant disease…and yes…the darkness of life bereft of hope. Jessie Ripoll saw the suffering of her people…their cries pierced her soul…what could she do at this point in her life’s journey? She dreamed of freedom for the oppressed…and true equality of opportunity and social justice. And on the appointed time…a vision so clear and luminous came to her. She came to know the great work God had chosen for her. So it was once that on May 1, 1880, holding somewhat orphan girl by the hand, she made her pilgrimage through the gate of Alpha to the cottage that sat on forty-three acres of virgin land…looking ahead to the sound of her footsteps. There started the socio-educational experiment that would receive the respect and admiration of Jamaica. Within a decade, word of her success and a call for participation reached the Sisters of Mercy in Bermondsey….It spoke to their hearts in a language that only those who have received the Call can bear in mind…like Abraham, they heard…Leave your country…for a land which I shall show you. They arrived on Dec.12, 1890 to sign up for Jessie. How could the four little girls who enrolled as the first students of Alpha Academy in 1894 have imagined that, a century later, fourteen hundred girls would be retracing their footsteps through the gates of Alpha? In his Proclamation of April 20, 2005, declaring the week of April 25 to May 1, 2005 as Alpha Week, the Governor General Sir Howard Cooke paid tribute to the Institution of learning that “produced a parade of graduates, women and men of excellence…who have made significant contributions to the development of our nation.” The Citation granting Alpha the freedom of the City of Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation and the Keys to the historic City speaks of the ‘tremendous contribution of the Boys’ School to the musical treasures of Jamaica’ and lauds ‘the students of Alpha who have served in each and every sphere of National and International life.’ Such is the power of that tiny, mustard seed of faith and hope, planted in the fertile soul of Jessie Ripoll over a century ago.

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