Easter relief

Six months after Hurricane Melissa battered sections of western Jamaica, hundreds of residents in Westmoreland are still struggling to recover – and for many, a simple food package is making all the difference.

With it being Easter this weekend, a time usually marked by family gatherings, church services and celebration, many in the parish are instead facing the harsh reality of going without food, electricity and stable housing.

Canadian aid group Global Medic has stepped in once again, distributing 1,175 emergency food kits across affected communities, targeting some of the parish’s most vulnerable residents.

“My role is to help coordinate our aid delivery, both internationally and domestically,” said Madalena Monteiro, emergency programmes officer with Global Medic.

“Right now, Global Medic is running a programme in response to Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica in October of last year.”

Monteiro explained that the kits contain essential pantry items.

“These kits contain staple pantry items; things like rice, peas, kidney beans – non-perishables, essentially.”

Each container includes six 700g bags of rice, three 500g bags of chickpeas, four 500g bags of green peas and three 500g bags of white kidney beans.

Beyond addressing immediate hunger, she said the initiative is also intended to ease broader financial pressures.

“We’re hoping thattby providing them with some food, we can both meet their basic needs and also potentially allow them to divert what income they may have to other essentials; things like organising repairs for their homes or paying electricity bills,” she said.

The need, she noted, remains significant, particularly in rural communities.

“Every time there’s damage to infrastructure, we know that there’s also going to be widespread food insecurity, particularly in rural areas,” Monteiro added.

Meanwhile, Westmoreland health promotion officer Gerald Miller said the distribution was carefully targeted, especially towards elderly residents.

“There are still people who are in need ... we can’t say we are bouncing back, because there are still people with financial issues who don’t have these basic things,” he said.

Miller explained that careful coordination went into identifying beneficiaries, particularly among vulnerable groups.

“From time to time, they will contact us and try to get the targeted persons who they want to distribute these items ... and we were able to identify groups that would have seniors who would have been in need,” he said.

He added that community networks played a key role in ensuring fairness in the distribution process.

“One of our colleagues who is part of the Community Development Committee organised the listing of persons in the community ... and we also targeted the National Council for Senior Citizens,” Miller said.

For the Frome Division, Councillor Lidden Lewis said the situation on the ground remains difficult, particularly for older residents.

“It has been almost six months, and we have persons out there who are definitely still in need, still haven’t gone back to normality,” he said.

Lewis noted that many elderly residents are unable to rebuild their lives.

“They’re unable to work like before to build back their homes, they’re still waiting on government assistance,” he said.

Access to basic necessities such as water also continues to pose challenges.

“We also face issues where water is concerned, so Global Medic was able to provide us with some water filters,” Lewis added.

He said efforts are being made to reach multiple communities, particularly those often overlooked.

“We’ll be in Grange Hill, Frome, Barham, Blackness, George’s Plain, Three Miles River, Bath, Banbury, Hertford, Piper’s Corner; all those communities will be targeted,” he said.

More than 400 packages are being distributed across the division to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left out.

While grateful for the assistance, Lewis stressed that more support will still be needed.

“As we go along, we’ll ensure that other persons within the community can get assistance to bring their lives back to normality ... that may include food, building material, whatever assistance would be appreciated,” he said.

“My heart goes out to them, and they are first and foremost priority on my list,” Lewis added, referring to elderly residents and shut-ins still struggling in the aftermath.

Similarly, Little London Councillor Ian Myles said recovery remains uneven across the parish.

“Persons have still not yet got their feet back to where it should have been since the hurricane, and so we still need assistance,” he said.

Receiving nearly 200 emergency food kits for his division, Myles said the donation is timely, particularly during the Easter season.

“Persons, especially now during the Easter period, are used to a decent meal, and this will go a far way in assisting them to get food on their table,” he said.

Despite ongoing recovery efforts, both local officials and aid partners agree that the need for support is far from over.

“So as a leader, I can only continue to lobby ... give us what you have, or what you can,” Myles said. “We will accept it on their behalf and ensure that it reaches the furthest points within the parish.”

mickalia.kington@gleanerjm.com