The administration of the Caribbean Christian School for the Deaf (CCCD) is celebrating a big win in its efforts to improve the water supply system for the Knockpatrick campus and the more than 100 deaf children, teens and young adults served there. 

The Digicel Foundation, in partnership with RESET Project 2025, has donated J$2 million towards building a rainwater harvesting and supply system, easing a long-standing burden on the school’s operations. 

RESET Project 2025, led by Olamay Events CEO Annoleah Wynter, launched on January 4 with a powerful gospel experience featuring Jamaican gospel music icons, Papa San and Chevelle Franklyn. The donation comes at a critical time for CCCD, which has struggled with water shortages for more than two years. 

CCCD campus manager Trudy Powell is elated at the donation, explaining that the daily pressure of managing without reliable access to water.

According to her, “We were spending up to J$800,000 a year purchasing water just to keep the school running. It reached a point where we considered sending our students home. This support allows us to redirect funds into critical areas while also planning for long-term sustainability.”

Benefits unfolding

Powell emphasised that the improvements, such as gutter repairs and expanded tank storage, will allow CCCD to harvest over 100,000 gallons of water during the rainy season, ensuring coverage during dry periods and enabling the campus to resume hosting income-generating summer camps and group visits.

The impact extends to CCCD’s small-scale farming and livestock activities, which had also been scaled back due to water issues. Powell adds, “We even had to buy water for our animals. This support helps us restore and expand operations and meet the standards required to keep our doors open.”

For Wynter, “RESET 2025 is about transforming lives. Our goal is to create lasting change in communities that need it most. Partnering with CCCD represents exactly the kind of legacy we want to leave, one that empowers and uplifts.”

For his part, Miguel ‘Steppa’ Williams, director of strategic planning and community development at the Digicel Foundation, “The initiative was a perfect match for the foundation’s mission. When the Rescue Package Foundation team brought this proposal to us, it aligned well with our core areas of support. It impacts the special needs community, promotes good environmental practices, and enables long-term sustainability, everything we stand for.”

Founded in 1957, CCCD has served as a cornerstone for deaf education and empowerment in Jamaica. Its three residential schools and the Jamaica Deaf Village offer academic, vocational, and spiritual support to help Deaf individuals live independently and confidently.

Williams notes that both CCCD and The Rescue Package Foundation are long-standing partners of the Digicel Foundation adding, “We are proud to invest in projects that deliver measurable, meaningful results for communities across Jamaica. This project is not just about water, it’s about dignity, stability, and empowerment.”