The Government has launched a fund to help the children, who lost parents in a motor vehicle accident in Portland on December 19 that claimed 14 lives.

According to a release from the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Prime Minister Bruce Golding has approved $500,000 from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to start the fund. This donation has been matched by the Ministry of Agriculture, because most of those who died were full-time or part-time farmers. New Era Fencing has also donated $100,000 to the fund.

Support and care

The release also said that Daryl Vaz, minister of state for Project Implementation and Service Delivery in the Office of the Prime Minister, said that the relevant government ministries, agencies and departments are in the affected communities offering services and other support. Schools are also being prepared to give additional support and care to the children when the school resumes soon.

The public can also make donations to the fund via an account established at the National Commercial Bank (NCB). "The public is also asked to make donations this Christmas through church offerings and other collections to speedily build up the fund that has been established to help the children left behind, " the release said.

The fund is called "A Helping Hand for the Children of Portland's Rio Grande Valley" and the number is 351 077 328.

The truck overturned killing 14 persons including a 10-year-old boy at Dam Bridge in the Rio Grande Valley of Portland. The people were killed after the truck overturned while transporting higglers to a market in Kingston.

Since the deaths, the government vowed to pay for the funerals of those who died and assist the children left behind. More than 50 children lost at least one parent in the accident.