Julien Alfred donates 50 children's books to Saint Lucian schools

Olympic sprint champion Julien Alfred has returned to her old primary school in Saint Lucia, not to run but to read, donating 50 copies of a children's book based on her own journey to a charity that supplies schools with new reading material. As reported by Caribbean National Weekly, the handover took place last Friday at Ciceron Primary School, the alma mater of the athlete who gave the island its first Olympic medals at Paris 2024.

The books, titled Peanut and the Julien Alfred Visit, tell the story of how a girl from Ciceron worked her way up through junior athletics to become Olympic 100 metres champion and 200 metres silver medallist. They were written by Saint Lucian author A.L. Dawn French and commissioned by 1st National Bank, which supported the project alongside Alfred's donation.

Alfred handed the copies to Diverse Classroom Books, a Saint Lucian charity dedicated to getting fresh, engaging and diverse reading material into island classrooms. Its founder, Shnell Donacien, said the contribution from the champion and the bank gives a meaningful lift to the organisation's work of widening children's access to books.

Donacien knows the classroom from the inside. Born in Choiseul and raised in London, she trained as a primary school teacher and has spent more than 18 years in education, with roles covering mentoring of fellow teachers, leadership of Key Stage 2, responsibility for the reading curriculum and service as an assistant headteacher. Her career has taken her to England, India and China, and she has spent the last eight years in the latter.

The charity has been quietly building a presence across Saint Lucia. In a statement, Donacien explained that the team has called at more than 20 schools in the past twelve months, starting in her home district of Choiseul and moving on to Vieux Fort, Soufrière, Canaries, Blanchard and Babonneau. The newly donated copies will be handed out during further school visits planned across the island.

For Donacien, the value of the donation goes beyond the pages themselves. She said the organisation is delighted that Alfred sees the importance of literacy and of encouraging children to read, and she praised the sprinter and 1st National Bank for helping put encouraging stories about Saint Lucian role models in front of young readers. The hope is that her example of commitment and perseverance will show pupils that ambition can be turned into achievement.

Diverse Classroom Books is now inviting Saint Lucian schools that would like to receive donations to get in touch, and is open to partnerships with businesses and other institutions that could help it reach more classrooms and build up school libraries.

The story matters beyond the school gates, because Alfred has become the island's most recognisable figure since she won gold in the 100 metres and silver in the 200 metres in Paris in 2024, adding 60 metres gold at the World Indoor Championships and 100 metres bronze at the 2025 World Championships. For visitors who follow sport in Saint Lucia, her rise has put a small island's athletics story on the map, alongside figures such as Daren Sammy and high jumper Levern Spencer.

Her story also sits well with what the island offers families and school groups thinking about family holidays in St Lucia, where children can hear the same stories of determination that are now reaching classrooms. Those weighing up how many days in St Lucia to spend will find that a visit easily stretches beyond the beach, from forest trails to the communities of the south where Alfred's own journey began.

For readers planning holidays to St Lucia, the island's appeal stretches well beyond athletics. Its schools are producing role models, while visitors arrive for a coastline that includes some of the finest beaches in St Lucia and the famous Pitons rising above the Soufrière shore.

The visitor economy has grown around that reputation, from small boutique hotels in St Lucia tucked into hillsides and coastal villages, to self-catering villas in St Lucia popular with families and longer stays. Those who prefer the sea on their doorstep often look at diving in St Lucia, where reefs shelter colourful marine life just off the coast.

Others arrive on St Lucia cruises, which call at ports close enough to the capital for day trips to Soufrière, the rainforest and local cooking that showcases food and rum in St Lucia. Together these visits help the economy of Saint Lucia, supporting jobs and small businesses in the communities where the charity works.

The next chapter of Alfred's own story will be written on the track, with the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 the next chance to add to her record. At home, though, her latest contribution is measured not in seconds but in stories, as 50 books begin to reach young readers across Saint Lucia.