Fire Took Most of a 97-Year-Old Girls’ Home. A $46 Million Rebuild Will Hold 32 Girls

• The Anglican-run Wortley Home for Girls on Constant Spring Road was badly damaged by fire in June 2015
• Nineteen girls, wards of the State, had to be relocated
• Food For The Poor was to build a $46 million split-level replacement
• The new home would hold 32 girls instead of 19

On June 29, 2015, fire destroyed a large section of the Wortley Home for Girls on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew, a 97-year-old institution run by the Anglican Church. In August 2016 the Jamaica Observer reported that reconstruction was about to begin.

The fire had forced the relocation of 19 girls, all wards of the State. The replacement was planned as a modern split-level building designed by architect Rivi Gardner, with Food For The Poor as builder, at an estimated cost of $46 million.

The new home would be larger than the old one. According to the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, it “will accommodate 32 girls, up from the 19 housed at the home when it was destroyed.” The project was a partnership between the diocese, the home’s board of management and Food For The Poor.

Wortley’s history goes back to 1918, when it was founded by the Rev Canon Wortley and his wife, Bertha, to care for needy girls regardless of their background or religion. It is one of three children’s homes operated by the Anglican Church in Jamaica, and for almost a century it had provided a home for girls who could not live with their families.

The rebuild shows how Jamaica’s church-run children’s homes are funded and built: a denomination provides the mission and oversight, a Christian charity provides construction capacity, and donors fill the gap. For the girls, it meant a safer and more modern home. For churches that operate old residential buildings, it is a warning about fire risk in ageing structures. For Jamaicans overseas looking for a meaningful project, supporting children’s homes such as Wortley puts money directly into housing some of the country’s most vulnerable young people.

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