IN the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa’s battering of the island, Restaurants of Jamaica (ROJ), franchise holders for KFC and Pizza Hut, has announced the first phase of its national hurricane relief effort valued at $18 million in monetary and meal support.

The contribution includes cash and meals that will be distributed across the island.

Beneficiaries will include the Government of Jamaica through the official Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) hurricane relief fund, as well as Food For the Poor Jamaica, which continues to mobilise emergency supplies, care packages and humanitarian support for heavily impacted communities.

In addition to national relief funds, ROJ will provide direct assistance to several homes, shelters, and charities within its KFC Harvest Outreach Programme.

Support will be extended to the Salvation Army Corps in St James, Westmoreland, and Trelawny; the Manning’s Boys Home and St Matthew’s Mother’s Union in St Elizabeth; as well as Hanbury Home for Children, Windsor Lodge Children’s Home and Friends in Need in Manchester, all of whom were impacted by the hurricane.

The company will also channel its relief efforts to primary schools that received support during the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl last year and have now been impacted again by Melissa.

Among them are Mayfield Primary and Infant School, and Top Hill Primary School in St Elizabeth, where classrooms, roofs and learning resources sustained damage.

According to ROJ, this initial contribution forms part of a broader commitment to support rebuilding and restoration across the most heavily impacted regions.

“ROJ is committed wholeheartedly to supporting our nation during this difficult time and helping those impacted to recover. In addition to monetary assistance we are providing food, in-kind donations, and recovery support to help families and institutions rebuild what has been lost. Jamaica is our home, and we are deeply committed to helping our people rise again,” said ROJ Managing Director Mark Myers. “While we support the ongoing national relief efforts, one of [our] main priorities also remains assisting the members of our own ROJ family, many of whom have been negatively impacted. We have already begun to activate our internal relief programmes to support those members of our team who are most in need at this time,” added Myers.

He underscored that ROJ will continue to support the national relief efforts in the coming weeks and months by way of additional donations of meals and other essential items to assist those in need.

Hurricane Melissa is regarded as one of the most destructive weather events in recent history. With flooding, destroyed properties, food shortages and ongoing displacement, private sector partnerships remain essential to Jamaica’s recovery.

Myers said ROJ will continue to work alongside relief agencies, community homes and schools to help the most affected areas rebuild and return to normalcy.