Hope and Rebuilding: Jamaica’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Effort
By Jomo Barnett, Managing Director, Jamaica International Projects (JIP)
To our friends, family, and partners around the world,
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our Hurricane Melissa Relief fund. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, your compassion and generosity have been a beacon of hope. We have been humbled to receive just over $600 USD in donations so far, and this will provide immediate, critical aid to those in need.
But to be blunt, the road ahead is long, and the need is staggering. Hurricane Melissa was the most devastating storm in history to strike our island, and our people are suffering.
The western parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover, St. James, and St. Elizabeth bore the brunt of Melissa’s fury. The storm left a trail of utter destruction, claiming over 50 lives and displacing tens of thousands. In coastal communities, storm surges and violent winds flattened homes, schools, and local businesses, wiping out entire livelihoods in a matter of hours. Thousands of our fellow Jamaicans are now homeless, and critical infrastructure, including roads and electricity, has been severely compromised.
While we are deeply grateful for the help we’ve received, it is a small first step. We need to raise much more to truly help our people rebuild and pick up the pieces of their lives. Every single dollar, however small, makes a profound difference.
Our total fundraising goal throughout this ongoing campaign is $100,000 USD, which will be used as follows:
- Go into the most affected communities to deliver relief items
- Be donated directly to families that lost their homes.
- Be donated to schools and orphanages which were either severely damaged or destroyed to help them rebuild
- To provide educational aid to students displaced by the hurricane
Our Progress & Immediate Plans
With the funds raised thus far, our JIP team is mobilizing for our first relief mission. We will be traveling to the hard-hit community of Little Bay in Westmoreland, one of the areas cut off by the storm. We will be using 100% of your donations to purchase essential food items, clean drinking water, tarpaulins, and basic hygiene supplies for direct distribution to the families and community members most desperately in need.
How You Can Help Rebuild Jamaica
This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we need your help. Here are the most effective ways you can support our relief efforts right now.
1. Donate
The most immediate and flexible way to help is with a financial contribution. This allows us to purchase supplies on the ground, support local economies, and respond to needs as they change.
We are proud to partner with the Seven Sisters Holistic Healing Institute for this fund. They will process all donations and send 100% of the funds raised directly to our JIP team in Jamaica—not to greedy politicians or bureaucratic middlemen. They have also generously decided to cover all processing and wire fees, to ensure that every penny donated gets to those in need.
All funds sent will be transparently accounted for, and we will track our progress and expenditures right here on this page.
To receive a tax write-off letter or for instructions on mailing a check, please email [email protected].
2. Volunteer
We have received many inquiries from people wanting to volunteer. While JIP does offer volunteer projects, our programs are based in Kingston and St. Catherine, which were thankfully not severely affected by the hurricane.
We regrettably do not have the capacity ourselves to host volunteers for hurricane relief. Volunteers looking to work directly in the field must do so by going through the official government portal: https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/volunteers.
Please direct any inquiries about in-person volunteering to the contact information listed on that website.
3. Send Care Packages and Relief Items
If you would like to send care packages to Jamaica directly, our team will arrange for their collection and distribution to affected communities.
- Step 1: Please see the list of the most crucial items needed: (e.g., Tents, Tarpaulins, Non-Perishable Food, First-Aid Kits, Hygiene Products, Solar-Powered Chargers, Water Purification Tablets, etc.)
- Step 2: Please follow this link to fill out the coordination form
While the Government of Jamaica has generously waived custom duty fees on relief items until December 31, 2025, we must ask that you, the donor, cover all associated shipping and clearance costs. This ensures that our limited funds remain dedicated to purchasing new supplies locally.
Thank you for standing with Jamaica. We are a resilient people, and with your support, we will rebuild, stronger than before.
Look out for another update in a few weeks
