GER3’s Global Response Team has been hard at work in Western Jamaica over the past two weeks, providing rapid assistance to communities devastated by Hurricane Melissa. Although the team has only been on the ground for a short time, they have established local partnerships, kickstarted critical response activities, and delivered support to some of the most impacted communities on the island.
With Hurricane Melissa’s landfall in Jamaica on October 28th, catastrophic winds, flooding, and storm surges caused major damage to homes, schools, hospitals, and obstructed many of the western roads with debris. An estimated 30,000 people are displaced due to the storm, with 66% of the population still without power.
In its first few days on the ground, the GER3 team met with local community members and non-profits to determine where the most impacted communities were. A community partnership was formed in Treasure Beach with a local non-profit called the Breds Foundation, and it became clear that this area was one of those most in need of debris clearing. Within four days, a cash-for-work team was formed in Treasure Beach with 11 local Jamaican residents, many of whom are unemployed or out of school due to the storm’s impacts. This cash-for-work program is not only a mechanism for cleaning the community, but also delivers cash directly to those families and individuals who were most affected by the storm.
To date, our team has cleared over 33,000 cubic feet of debris and logged over 300 cash-for-work hours. The team is currently working to restore beach access for fishermen’s livelihoods, repair boats as possible, and improve conditions for the community’s uninsured small businesses. We plan to continue debris clearing operations within Treasure Beach and expand along Jamaica’s west coast in the coming weeks. GER3’s work in clearing the Treasure Beach’s main community beach also directly aided the Jamaican Coast Guard, who then used the location as a central distribution point for isolated coastal communities. Without this area cleared by GER3’s local team, the coast guard may not have been able to deliver this critical aid to affected families.
GER3 has also collaborated with numerous organizations in the initial phases of this response. The Breds Foundation is a local non-profit in Treasure Beach, providing education, sports, and environmental services, and has been a critical partner in the opening phases of GER3’s program delivery. In addition, the Disaster Arborist Response Teams (DART) UK is a global disaster relief organization that provides arborist and tree clearing services, as well as equipment and training services to disaster-affected areas. Both organizations have been impactful partners to kickstarting an effective response and delivering aid to impacted communities.
Finally, GER3 is continuing to conduct assessments for early recovery and repair programs located in Hilltop, Spruce Grove, Parottee Bay, and Bull Savanna focused on home, school, and emergency shelter repairs. GER3 will continue to provide updates as our Hurricane Melissa response continues.
All donations to GER3’s Hurricane Melissa response will go directly to the recovery effort to help affected communities. To donate and support GER3’s recovery efforts, please follow the link below:
https://www.ger3.org/checkout/donate?donatePageId=64db0b312d67740f5841fb99.
We appreciate your continued support as we aim to help as many as possible in Jamaica’s recovery effort.
