Water rushing through the streets of Jamaican towns from Hurricane Melissa; Melissa ripped roofs off houses and buildings; “wooden houses in Negril, Jamaica”

By April Ryan, NNPA

The United Nations reports that Hurricane Melissa has scattered nearly 5 million tons of debris across Western Jamaica, hindering crews from delivering aid and restoring critical services promptly.
According to reports, crews are still working to clear roads, attempting to reach 27 communities cut off by landslides and flooding. Many of those communities are still without power and Wi-Fi. The category five storm killed at least 32 people in Jamaica and another 43 in nearby Haiti, where 13 people remain missing. Here in the United States, the head of the Congressional Black Caucus, New York Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, is working feverishly with the State Department to ensure help is coming from the United States to the affected Caribbean nations, particularly Jamaica.
Both of the New York Congresswoman’s parents immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. Clarke has been a strong advocate for Caribbean issues and serves as co-chair of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus. According to a State Department website, “Within hours, Secretary [Marco] Rubio deployed a regional Disaster Assistance Response Team, including urban search-and-rescue teams, to assess needs and provide search and recovery assistance.
The State Department also indicates it “is collaborating with UN agencies, NGOs, and host governments to deliver food, water, medical supplies, hygiene kits, temporary shelter, and search and rescue support.”
Iconic and award-winning actress, activist, and Jamaican native Sherly Lee Ralph said on The Tea with April, “It is exactly one week later, and there are some people who have not had anybody come to help them, nobody!”
Ralph emoted,” It’s rough. We need help there now.” She is calling on all the people who have “enjoyed the beaches in Jamaica” to help by finding trusted places you know and making a donation, as the storm’s destruction has halted the normalcy of life on the island.” Ralph provided an update on some areas that hold personal significance for her. “The school that my parents helped build lost their roof.  They’re trying to figure out where we’re going to put these kids, how we’re gonna get them back into school, all of these things, and it’s like I can see where we’re going afterwards, but how do we start to get the help there now?”
The actresses’ children have also started a donation center at their facility, Walk Good LA, to help address some of the dire needs in Jamaica. Her family used the same space for donations to help the victims of the L.A. fires earlier this year.
Relief efforts coordinated by Jamaican government
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness vowed that his government would devote “all our energy” to a strong recovery. On Facebook, Holness said recently: “Yesterday, In Manchester, I met with residents whose lives were upended by Hurricane Melissa. Many have lost homes and belongings, yet their strength and faith remain unshaken. In every story shared, I saw courage, the kind that defines us as Jamaicans. We will not leave anyone behind. Recovery has already begun, and we will rebuild stronger.”
Holness, who visited devastated areas to meet residents and assess the damage up close, declared the entire island a disaster area while noting that the destruction is particularly difficult on communities in Saint Elizabeth and elsewhere which rely significantly on farming.
The prime minister announced that the government launched supportjamaica.gov.jm to coordinate relief which will accept for donations, allow for people to report emergencies, and help those in need locate shelters.

Holness said Jamaica is resilient and will recover but Baker Brown said sometimes resilience comes at a cost.
“Resilience is often celebrated as our superpower, but despite the resilience we are noted for, our souls are gone. This is beyond resilience. I must admit that this is emotional fatigue and exhaustion,” she said. “True resilience is not just about surviving adversity. It’s also about having access to resources, investment and psychological care, that will allow individuals and communities recover and thrive without having to carry the weight alone.”
The United Nation’s World Food Program announced that it had received 2,000 boxes of emergency food assistance shipped from Barbados which will be distributed to shelters and in the most-affected communities in the St. Elizabeth area.
And UNICEF said it is sending water, sanitation and hygiene kits for about 14,500 people and nutritional supplies for more than 4,000 children had been sent before the hurricane hit. Another $1 million was allocated to support immediate emergency response.
The UN Population Fund has provided up to 5,000 reproductive health kits and 4,000 dignity kits alongside significant emergency relief support from the United Kingdom and Canada.  A further $4m from its Central Emergency Response Fund has also been allocated to affected people in Jamaica. Medical kits for about 11,000 people were provided by the Pan American Health Organization.

NNPA reporting supplemented by Barrington M. Salmon, Trice Edney Newswire