This Giving Tuesday, we would like to thank all of the people who have come together to help with Jamaica’s recovery following Hurricane Melissa. Some highlights of your donations at work:
8,250 meals prepared and delivered to the Bluefields, Auldyr and Retirement communities along Bluefields Bay (including the Bluefields Health Center) since the hurricane.
Approximately US$47,000 in materials have been purchased and distributed or are in the process of distribution.
14 houses have been repaired since the storm. Our employees have repaired four homes and provided the materials for staff and community members to repair an additional 10 homes with the help of outside contractors. We are working on home #15 this week.
We have worked with (a) the University of the West Indies to provide psychological evaluations for residents, (b) Fontana pharmacy to get prescriptions filled for people otherwise unable to get their medications, (c) Sean Paul and Food for the Poor to distribute additional building materials to community members.
The biggest challenge that we are facing is that damage has been unequal. We have decided to allocate aid based on need; in other words, resources are being allocated to the community members who have lost the most first, though we hope to be able to eventually move beyond repairing roofs, walls, windows and doors to replacing contents such as mattresses and dressers.
With the holiday season upon us, most local children will not be getting any presents. In fact, most of them have lost everything and have nothing. We will be working with Fontana, the largest pharmacy in Jamaica, to order holiday toys (list here) for children aged 0-15. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please make a donation to the Bluefields Villas Foundation. We plan to allocate $3,000 to this effort and Fontana will match donations and provide two toys for every one purchased. We hope to provide can provide 500-600 Christmas presents to children in the community from Sav to Belmont.
Once again, we are truly grateful for your support during these challenging times. As Managing Director Houston Moncure said in a recent New York Times article, “the reason people come to Jamaica can’t be taken by a storm [….] The heart, the culture, the food, the reggae. That’s not gone, and if anything, it will be here in spades, even if the landscaping isn’t perfect.” So, for those hoping to support Jamaica in 2026, please consider coming to visit. If you want to support us, visit us!
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