The landfall of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa caused catastrophic damage across the Caribbean, leaving thousands of families in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In Jamaica, the combined impacts of powerful winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, landslides, and flooding caused extensive damage, forcing the government to declare a disaster in multiple areas of the country.
Rev. Marsha Scipio visited Jamaica to assess the main needs in the area and to support the local leadership to organize the aid efforts.
Immediate response efforts have focused on providing food assistance and distributing essential household items such as toiletries, mattresses, and cooking utensils. In parallel, targeted support is being provided to pastors who lost their income as a direct result of the disaster, ensuring continuity of community care during the critical initial recovery phase.
In Western Jamaica, complementary humanitarian actions aim to reach approximately 3,000 people across 600 households through food and non-food distributions, psychosocial support, and temporary repairs to the most-affected churches and communities.
