More donations for Glenhope
Published:Thursday | March 1, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Nadisha Hunter, Staff Reporter
GLENHOPE PLACE of Safety in Maxfield Park, St Andrew, is one step closer to meeting its $50-million demand to rebuild the facility, which was destroyed by fire last year, after receiving $650,000 in donation on Tuesday.
The facility was extensively damaged by fire last November, forcing its closure.
The home, which housed girls between the ages of 12 and 18, was announced as the fund-raising project for this year's National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB), which was held in January.
The NLPB presented $500,000 in collaboration with Victoria Mutual, which handed over $150,000 to the worthy cause during a function held at the Victoria Mutual Centre on Half-Way Tree Road in St Andrew.
According to Carla Francis-Edie, chief executive officer at the Child Development Agency (CDA), the home will be constructed to house the wards of the State more comfortably in a family setting.
"We thank you so much for contributing to this because we are going to not only renovate Glenhope, but we are going to reconfigure Glenhope.
"Initially, the girls were living in a communal setting, but we are going to set it up so that each dorm will have four or five girls with their own bathroom, so we are making it more into a family-life setting," she explained.
Good responses
She said the home has received some good responses with persons willing to assist, but much more is needed to be done to get the building ready this year.
Since the fire, the girls have been relocated to other facilities, with a few persons returning home to their families.
"At the time, we had girls who were displaced and the problem that we have is that it is a constant flow, so we really don't have space," said Michelle McIntosh, director of financial management and accounting services at CDA.
"We found space for them in about 10 privately run facilities, and we have reviewed the cases and few were able to go back home to their families," she added.
Chairman of NLPB, the Reverend Dr Peter Garth, who made the presentation, said the group was happy it was able to assist in the important venture.
"When the home was destroyed by fire, the situation was overwhelming for those persons responsible for the home, and indeed for all of us as Jamaicans. But then, beyond the situation, the next thing that happened is that the supplies are insufficient, but when God is in it, little can become a lot," he said.