DARLISTON, Westmoreland – Answering the call to help wards at the fire-ravaged Clifton Boys’ Home in Darliston, Westmoreland, with much-needed school supplies, Digicel on the weekend delivered uniforms, books and school bags to the 28 boys that were housed at the facility.

The boys were very thankful for the gifts.

Manager for the Clifton Boys’ Home, Irene McDonald — fondly known as ‘Mother Mac’ — was relieved at the outpouring of support from companies such as Digicel.

“I am grateful, and I am most overwhelmed to see the support you have given to us. all our burdens are going down, little by little,” she expressed.

Chief executive officer of the Child Development Agency (CDA), Rosalee Gage-Gray, shared that the agency has been providing counselling support to the boys, while coordinating an effort to rebuild their place of safety.

She, too, commended Digicel for its support.

“We are quite happy for Digicel’s contribution, we have always been partnering with Digicel and so we are quite thankful for the uniforms and the bags that the children got,” said a thankful Gage-Gray.

With help from the Darliston community, ‘Mother Mac’ has been able to secure a temporary location to house the boys until a permanent structure is rebuilt at the home’s original location.

Shortly after the handover, Head of public relations at Digicel, Elon Parkinson, said, “we consider it our duty to help whenever a tragedy of this kind strikes. The outpouring of support from our employees, especially those who have been donating items of clothing and other needs, has been tremendous, and it was so good to see the smiles on the boys’ faces when they saw that so many other people care about them.”

The facility in Darliston that housed the wards of the State was destroyed by fire earlier this month.

Since then, a number of individuals and companies have come forward to provide much-needed help for the boys.

The Diocese of Jamaica & The Cayman Islands, which owns and operates the home, has since launched a rebuilding fund for the facility.

Donors are being invited to make contributions through the National Commercial Bank at account number 611098561. A foreign currency account (number 614525185) has also been established to facilitate donors across the Jamaican Diaspora.