Help is on the way in the form of hurricane relief support for residents in St Elizabeth and Westmoreland who were severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa through the United States-based non-profit organisation, Forbes Family Foundation.

Dr Ariel Forbes, a Jamaican-born oral surgeon and founder of the Forbes Family Foundation, told Observer Online that the relief effort will be rolled out in the coming weeks in two phases.

“So we are going to be breaking everything down into two phases. So essentially a restore, a support, and cleanup phase, in which we’re going to be bringing in cases, pallets of water, canned goods, pantry staples, generators, solar power banks, clothing, sleeping bags, tarps, cleaning supplies,” she said.

The second phase will target home rebuilding, including distribution of construction materials such as drywall, cement, tiles, nails and power tools.

Sixty-seven-year-old Esmine Pitter circumvents a downed power line in Lacovia, St Elizabeth, on Wednesday, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa which battered the south-western end of the island on Tuesday.

Dr Forbes shared that plans are in place to set up food tents to serve hot meals to residents, with one expected to be established near Black River, St Elizabeth, and another either in Darliston or Whitehouse, Westmoreland.

“Within both those phases, we’ll be setting up food tents to serve hot and cold foods for those in need of a meal. We’re looking to target the Black River area by Kentucky to set up our first food tent and our other food tent, we’re looking either in Darliston or near the White House fish market is where our target is,” she said.

She told Observer Online that her flight to Jamaica which was initially scheduled for Friday was cancelled and noted that she is anticipating to arrive on the island November 12.

“I actually had a flight for tomorrow (Friday) to come in, but the airline canceled my flight. So I moved it on to November 12th. So right now I’m in the store buying items and we’re sending them down, freighting items down. They’re gonna be sent off via sea freight tomorrow (Friday) to arrive at the port. We have requested an expedited clearance of the items so that when we’re there, we’re able to hand these items out,” she explained.

This man carries a child on his back through the muddy road in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, on Wednesday.Photo: Garfield Robinson

Once the supplies have arrived on the island, Dr Forbes noted that her team will need support in transporting the items from Kingston to western parishes.

“I think our biggest struggle is really once we port all these items into the ports is really transferring them from Kingston to St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland. So we definitely would seek persons who have a truck who would like to help transfer some of those items,” she added.

The foundation is also seeking support for the distribution of supplies once they are on the island.

Motivated by her personal connection to Jamaica and compassion for those who have lost their homes, Dr Forbes said she felt compelled to give back to her country.

“I’m a Jamaican and some of the other members on our board are also Jamaican. So when we hear that something like this is happening, we can’t just sit back and not do anything. So that is how we came about wanting to do relief for this,” she said.

The effort, she added, also reflects her lifelong commitment to helping others and uplifting communities in need.

Forbes Family Foundation launches fundraiser for hurricane relief efforts for St Elizabeth and Westmoreland

“I’ve always wanted to come back and give back to Jamaica. I currently have a residence in Westmoreland that was affected. Some of our other members have family or friends or they have their homes in St Elizabeth or Westmoreland or Manchester that have been affected. And so it kind of hits us a little bit a little bit differently. So we are fortunate enough that these homes are our second homes, but we do understand that the persons who live in these parishes, these are their primary home. These are their livelihoods that just overnight was taken away from them,” Forbes said.

The Forbes Family Foundation has also launched a Hurricane Melissa Restoration fundraiser to raise funds for the relief effort.