CHILDREN and their families still reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Beryl in Clarendon turned out in their numbers last week to collect hygiene kits from UNICEF.

Hundreds came from Rocky Point, Portland Cottage, and Lionel Town to snap up the benefits provided through the collaborative effort of the teams from UNICEF and Food For the Poor (FFP) who journeyed to the mid-island parish to support the suffering communities.

The Category 4 hurricane lashed these coastal areas on July 3, 2024, leaving many homes without roofs and many farmers and fisherfolk without their livelihoods. The distribution mission is one of many that have taken place shortly after the hurricane. During this visit, UNICEF donated 300 hygiene kits packaged in a bucket containing items such as laundry detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bath soaps, rags, sanitary napkins, mosquito repellent and liquid anti-bacterial handwash.

“UNICEF knows that children and their families are suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl and our focus is on ensuring that they are receiving support in the areas of sanitation and hygiene, which is crucial at this time when their water supply and electricity are affected,” UNICEF Representative Olga Isaza explained.

“This donation is part of an ongoing support that UNICEF is providing to the most-affected children and their families in these communities,” she said.

In all, 3,600 kits will be distributed to the most-affected communities, and some 11,000 children will be supported through water points, child-friendly spaces, among other initiatives including monetary support for families with children under five years old, pregnant and lactating women, and people with disabilities.

In her appeal on behalf of children, Isaza is urging communities to protect children from abuse and ill-treatment, and to be extra watchful of their well-being during this period of vulnerability.

Little Oneilia Graham has the attention of Olga Isaza, UNICEF representative, and Dennis Zulu, UN resident coordinator, while her mother, Itasha McDonald (left), looks on. Hundreds of residents turned out at Portland Cottage Primary School in Clarendon to collect hygiene kits from UNICEF on July 30, in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.