THE Government’s Hurricane Beryl relief effort is being slowed by a lack of connectivity, and other factors, leaving scores of residents in communities most devastated in dire need of support.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which is leading the Government’s humanitarian response, says that while it has spent more than $50 million providing care packages and lines of credit to assist Jamaicans impacted by the storm, it is still working to reach those most in need.

Portfolio minister Pearnel Charles Jr, speaking at a post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday, explained that his ministry’s assessment and relief exercises have been impeded by several factors including the inability to communicate.

“It has been a difficult task. I myself have been on a street providing relief, returned to that street the next day to hear multiple persons say ‘we haven’t seen you, where have you been?’ And we did distribution on that exact street, and one of the reasons is the team is moving as fast as it can. So if you are not there, we may not be able to provide the support to you, but they will return. The effort is to get across the network and to utilise as many community leaders as possible to work with the Members of Parliament (MPs). I know some have said ‘listen, we’re not hearing from the teams’ that’s because of the difficulty in terms of communication,” said Charles Jr.

“We understand your frustration, we understand that several children are now scared. We understand that several seniors are concerned about their medicines, concerned about where they are staying tonight. We are working assiduously on the go, 24 hours a day to make sure that we can provide you with as much relief as possible,” he added.

Charles Jr said the Government has so far assessed 2,000 households and distributed close to 6,000 care packages to families in need as part of its response and relief efforts.

He said that almost 800 tarpaulins and 500 mattresses have also been distributed. In addition, the ministry also provided 612 hygiene kits and 159 cases of water.

Noting that the relief outreach is being done with the aid of several non-governmental organisations (NGOs), other partners and volunteers, Charles Jr called on other Jamaicans to join in the cause.

“We’re committed in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to leaving no one behind and so we want to encourage all Jamaicans, particularly those who may be in a better position, to join in the work of rebuilding this nation. If you can assist, reach across, do not wait for a neighbour to ask. Many need the support, but cannot muster up the voice to say, ‘please help me’,” said Charles Jr.

“Those who can volunteer, get out of your house and volunteer. Those who have supplies that can be donated, this is the time, not next week… today. Those who can offer their skills and expertise to help in this rebuilding effort, this is your opportunity,” he added.

The minister said that teams from the other ministries including the local government and community development, education and youth, health and wellness, and NGO’s such as Red Cross, and Food for the Poor, have been working alongside the Labour Ministry going house to house to promptly deploy islandwide and to deliver immediate relief supplies, and to conduct the initial damage assessments.

“It’s challenging particularly because of those areas where communication is completely down. So for our officers that are going into, or who are in Clarendon, and some areas of St Elizabeth, they cannot communicate on either of the [telecommunication] providers. And so it has been difficult. So we expect that over the next couple of days, we’ll be in a much better position to give more accurate data,” said Charles Jr.

He thanked Jamaica’s international development partners including the United Nation’s World Food Programme, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) who have offered assistance in various forms, including technical support, supplies, cash transfers, and logistical aid, amongst others.

Charles Jr also asked Jamaicans affected by the hurricane to reach out to the ministry if they are in need of assistance. They can do so through their local parish office or contact the ministry at 876-922-8000-9. They can also connect through the ministry’s social media channels.

Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr addresses the post-Cabinet media briefing on Wednesday. (Photo: JIS)