SOME faith-based groups have activated their emergency relief programmes to provide well-needed assistance to flood victims, following the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Nicole.

Major Stanley Griffin, who co-ordinates the Eastern Jamaica Division of the Salvation Army, said his group spent most of the evening of October 1 packing relief supplies, which they distributed the following day to those most affected.

"We were in the Kintyre area where we were giving out food parcels. We have also given out stuff in Alligator Pond, Five Miles, Spanish Town, May Pen and also in Western Jamaica where we have done a considerable amount of work with distribution in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland," he told the Sunday Observer.

Griffin said disaster co-ordinators have been kept busy trying to ascertain the primary needs in the various parishes, even as they try to meet the needs of those who have been calling their offices for help. So far, he said his organisation has spent over $500,000 to purchase mostly food items for affected residents.

"We have a certain amount of funds allocated for disaster and whenever there is a disaster like that, the funds kick in and corporate Jamaica will respond by giving us the stuff on consignment, and some, for example Grace, would also donate stuff," Griffin noted.

"We don't know yet what the next phase will be. Most likely it might be clothes, blankets and trampolines and so on. But for now, the immediate need is food items," he added.

Tropical Storm Nicole brought with it heavy showers, which resulted in the deaths of at least 13 people and caused severe infrastructure damage to the island's roads, schools, businesses and homes. Prime Minister Bruce Golding has announced that it is going to cost the country $10.6 billion to restore the infrastructures damaged by the storm. However, various charity groups have started doing their part to lessen the bill. Some have been teaming up with government agencies, such as the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), to house affected residents and provide supplies.

"Because of our location, we are working with the St Catherine parish disaster committee to provide assistance to scores of families, including over 300 children housed in shelters in St Catherine, and there will be more as the reports come in from the agencies," noted Ryan Peralto, chief executive officer of Food for the Poor.

The inter-denominational Christian agency has also sent supplies of rice, peas, vegetarian beans, mattresses, pillows, pillow cases, newborn kits, children's diapers and hygiene kits to various shelters which had taken in flood victims who were forced to evacuate their homes during the storm.

"We at Food for the Poor are always ready and willing to play our part in providing for those most in need among us, particularly during a time of social and emotional crisis," said Peralto.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) said they would be willing to help if called upon to do so. Director for the agency Wenford Henry said they are in discussions with the ODPEM to ascertain what role they can play in helping Jamaica to recover

"I have already contacted our partners in America and have put them on standby because we normally get our funding from them for emergency operations," he said.

Members of ADRA also paid a visit on September 30 to flood victims at Edith Dalton James High School where they spent hours distributing cooked meals.

Convenor of the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches (JUGC) Lenworth Anglin said the churches have been meeting to discuss what they can do to help flood victims recover from the devastation caused by Tropical Storm Nicole. Among other things, the group hopes to visit the Sandy Park area in St Andrew, where a family of six were washed away when a section of the house they occupied fell into the Sandy Gully less than two weeks ago. The bodies of five of them have since been recovered across various sections of the Corporate Area.

The JUGC, has in the interim, expressed their deepest sympathy with those who have lost loved ones and property, or who were dislocated because of the storm.

"We can only imagine the depth of grief that you are now experiencing. It is our prayer that you will experience comfort and healing in the love and grace of God in these difficult moments as you try to put the pieces back together," the group said in a release to the media.

They also added their encouragement for all citizens to support the Government in preserving the environment to minimise damages and associated trauma in the future.

The Jamaica Baptist Union Mission Agency said they, too, have been reaching out by visiting homes in sections of Barbican, St Andrew and Portmore, St Catherine to encourage the residents who were affected by the natural disaster.

Secretary director of the mission agency Reverend Michael Shim-Hue said that one of the homes they visited is in Christian Pen, St Catherine -- the place where Tashanna Wallace, five, was crushed to death by a fallen branch during the passage of the storm. He added that they have spoken to the members of Parliament and the councillors of some of the parishes to see what else they can do to assist.

"We will be able to offer bottled water and food items, mattresses, clothing, prayer, counselling, trauma relief and also people need trampolines because their roofs were damaged. Whatever the need is, we are willing and ready to source those needs," Shim-Hue said.