ST Peter’s Basic School in Portland Cottage, southern Clarendon, which went solar in 2019 — bidding farewell to high electricity bills — is once again hoping for brighter days after being pummelled by Hurricane Beryl on July 3.

The institution, which is the only one of its kind serving the Portland Cottage community, on Monday opened its doors to a handful of kindergarten students but cut a forlorn picture in the ravaged space.

Only one member of staff was seen at the faded blue board structure — now with tarpaulin splayed on its roof alongside the once-proud solar panels — when the Jamaica Observer visited on Monday morning.

The news team was told that the principal was not present on the compound.

The tiny charges, who were studiously seated at their miniature desks, were oddly quiet in the gloomy building which is now dependent on natural light.

Outside the building, except for the odd stray animal nothing graced the sludgy space but an expanse of stagnant water precariously close to the side of the school house, stubbornly refusing to subside.

The Observer was told by a group of concerned parents that there was no running water in the building, but that claim could not, however, be verified.

Several feet away, the adjoining Portland Cottage Community Centre mirrored the destruction unleashed by Beryl in the space, its roofing curled back by the furious winds, leaving it uninhabitable.

The launching ceremony for the school’s solar system project was held at the community centre. The $1-million project was largely funded by Abacus For Communities (AFC), a non-profit organisation. AFC provides services in disaster preparedness, institutional strengthening, and community capacity building.