THE Germany Embassy yesterday donated US$17,000 to the Mustard Seed Communities to fund the building of a basic school, the Little Angels Basic School, and playground for its young residents that will also serve several communities in and around downtown Kingston.

The funds will also facilitate the renovation of Mary’s Child, a home for pregnant teens who are wards of the state, and their babies.

In handing over the cheque yesterday Maria Friedrich-Boerger, Counsellor Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, said the mission was pleased that it was able to dedicate the maximum sum allowed for a small-scale project.

“We are so convinced of the merits of these projects that we want to help as much as we can,” she said, while promising more funding next year.

Darcy Tulloch-Williams, executive administrator for Mustard Seed Communites, said yesterday that Mary’s Child would now be able to assist teens in the wider community with the donation.

“This will do a lot for the teens as it will provide a basic school that even their own children will be able to attend and it will also help the community in which we exist because they need it,” she said.

According to administrator for the home, Winsome Smith, Mary’s Child offers shelter for pregnant teens sent from the court. The girls are allowed to live at the home for up to a year after giving birth.

She said Mary’s Child houses a maximum of 12 girls and their babies at any one time before they are re-integrated with their families.

“We try to foster a relationship with the family and try to get them to a place where they can actually take them back because the girls are unable most of the time to even look after their children,” she told the Observer.

Yesterday, she disclosed that they were in the process of opening a vocational centre where the girls will be trained in the areas of cosmetology, sewing, computer skills as well as attend general math, English, and values and attitudes classes during their stay at the home.

She said the administration was particularly motivated by the number of success stories that resulted from the programme. Several of the girls, she said, are now enrolled in the normal school system and are doing extremely well.

“Some of our girls have come back to speak to other girls about how Mary’s Child has helped them,” she told the Observer.

Mary’s Child, which was formerly known as the Mahfood’s Home, was established in 1992. Meanwhile, the Little Angels Basic School, the fourth of its kind within the Mustard Seed Community, is scheduled to open in September and can accommodate up to 25 students.

It will serve children from the surrounding communities as well as from the other homes within the Mustard Seed Community such as Martha’s House and Matthew 25:40.