Military man assists needy

Since July, Jamaica Defence Force staff sergeant Kaniel Cole has been using his online presence to harvest funds from followers to assist those in dire need.

Cole informed THE STAR that after seeing the heartfelt story of 14-year-old Raymond Campbell, who needed donations for surgery to correct his scoliosis, he was moved to help.

"When I saw Raymond's story, I thought to myself that it could easily be my child that needs assistance, so why not use my voice and platform for some good?" he said.

The Spanish Town, St Catherine native, who has more than 20,000 Instagram followers, managed to raise approximately half of the required J$1.4 million for Raymond's surgery.

Cole said that throughout his work as a solider he has visited the Mustard Seeds Communities and would see how persons with certain ailments were living.

$500,000 in two weeks

"It just touched me, so I always wanted to something to help persons in such positions," he said. "I have been trying to see how much I can use social media to do some good, and I raised $500,000 for Raymond in two weeks' time which I deposited in Meditech's account." The entity will perform the surgery.

"This whole charity thing even caught me by surprise, because I did not know persons would respond so well," Cole admitted. Raymond's mother, Margaret Thompson, expressed gratitude.

"Oh my God, I can't tell you how grateful I am for the help. I'm so overwhelmed right now. If anyone can put their self in my shoes, they will know how I feel. He has done so much," said Thompson

Cole was then motivated to take on another charity project. He managed to raise $100,000 for Steve Buckige, a visually impaired single father who was featured in THE STAR late August.

Last Saturday, Cole visited Buckige's dwelling off Waltham Park Road, where he handed over the cash and food donations he received from GraceKennedy.

"I also shared a word of encouragement to him and his son because I know they need it, especially in a time like this," he said.

Buckige said, "I appreciate what him do for me and my son because I don't know how me would manage. I can't go out there go work, so I have to give thanks."