Ground will be broken this morning for reconstruction of The Wortley Home for Girls, which was destroyed by fire in June 2015.
Designed by well-known architect, Rivi Gardner, the plans for the new split-level structure have been approved by the relevant government authorities and construction will be done by Food for the Poor under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands which operates the Home.
The new building will accommodate 32 girls, up from the 19 housed at the Home at the time of the fire.
The project, which is estimated to cost some J$46 Million, is being facilitated by the generous support of donors, locally and across the Jamaican Diaspora. These include Rivi Gardner & Associates; Peter Jervis, Engineer; and Berkley & Spence, Chartered Quantity Surveyors, whose services were provided free of cost; as well as, Tankweld Ltd., which cleared the site for construction.
The Wortley Home for Girls was established by the Anglican Church in 1918 to provide a stable and nurturing environment for orphans, or children whose parents had fallen on hard times. It has since expanded its mandate and now also accepts girls who are referred there on the basis of decisions by the Juvenile Court.
