Caregiver Violet Guthrie (left) supervises children from the Mustard Seed Communities as they check out the new bus Scotiabank donated to Sophie's Place, a Mustard Seed charity, to replace the one that was stolen a few days after the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav in August last year. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

Replacing a stolen bus that was used to transport sick and disabled children cared for by the Mustard Seed Communities: $1.9 million.

Adding a little comfort to the lives of disadvantaged children so accustomed to discomfort: priceless.

On Wednesday, Scotiabank filled a void left by uncouth and callous thieves late last year by donating a spanking new Nissan Caravan to the Mustard Seed Communities.

The bus was handed over at Mustard Seed's head office on Mahoe Drive in Kingston.

Cold-hearted bandits

A few days after Tropical Storm Gustav's passage at the tail end of last August, cold-hearted bandits stole Mustard Seed's marked Toyota Hiace bus, which was used to transport the children to the hospital and physiotherapy sessions.

The theft worsened an already bad situation as the passage of Gustav caused serious damage to the charity's Sophie's Place location in Gordon Town. Some 24 "severely disabled" children where left grappling with desperate, unsafe living conditions.

Three children, one from Sophie's Place and two other Mustard Seed homes, also died from what was described as trauma

Scotiabank adds comfort to lives of disadvantaged children associated with emergency relocation exercises that were carried out while Gustav was having its way with the island.

In an article published in The Gleaner, Father Gregory Ramkissoon, executive director of the Mustard Seed Communities, pleaded with the thieves to return the bus. That did not happen; but, one of the nation's banking giants offered a lifeline. Heather Goldson, Scotiabank's senior vice-president for marketing and products, told The Gleaner that the financial institution assisted because it was blessed to be in a position to be a blessing for the less fortunate.

Goldson said the bank believed Mustard Seed was a national treasure and added that the work it did was invaluable. "Because of that, we felt moved to replace it. We felt very, very pleased to be able to assist them," said the senior bank executive.

Artwork

The bank also assisted in getting artwork done by two of the children from Sophie's Place emblazoned on the side of the bus. Anthony Brodber, adminis-trator of Sophie's Place, said the bank's kindness ended the home's almost eight-month battle with transportation for the children.

"We have been battling transport woes," he said.

In addition to borrowing vehicles from sister homes, Sophie's Place had to lean on the University of Technology for assistance.

The university took up the task of transporting the children to their physiotherapy sessions held on its campus from Monday to Friday. The physiotherapy programme is a joint venture between the institution and Mustard Seed.

The new bus will also be used to transport the children to school and church services, as well as assist the home in preparing for disaster by relocating the children in times of emergencies to safer homes.

The children, who were able to grasp the significance of the donation, were overjoyed. And there was no honeymoon for the new bus, as it went straight to work. "Everybody is happy and the bus went right into the thick of things," Brodber said.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com