ST JAMES, Jamaica —The day after Hurricane Melissa left her traumatised, Washington DC resident Michelle Yarboough cautiously emerged from the Airbnb in St James where she was staying and asked a stranger if she could charge her phone.

She received a lot more help than she ever expected.

Lavern Jenkins took her in, and Yarboough watched as the family helped hold the Meadows of Irwin community together.

“This lady, Lavern Jenkins, when she realised I was [alone], not one day did she leave me by myself,” Yarboough told Observer Online as she lost her battle to keep the tears of gratitude at bay.

“She let me stay with her. I have seen her help every single person in this community. Hands down she’s a rod and staff. I don’t know what I would have done without her,” added Yarboough.

The Jenkins family has solar power fuelling their entire house, and they share access to their Starlink with anyone who shows up.

They have placed an extension cord near the chairs on the veranda so phones and other electrical devices can be charged. The family also has an extension cord that provides power to a neighbour whose solar panels were damaged.

At that house there is always someone being helped in the aftermath of Melissa.

Yarboough has benefitted from their generosity in more ways than one.

She said Jenkins allayed her concerns when she was afraid some people may be taking advantage of the family.

“Not only was I safe, but I also learned again what it is just to be unconditional, what it is just to give of yourself. Just to say, ‘Good morning, hello, how you do? Do you need anything?’ You can’t just walk past nobody no more. You must say, ‘Hello, how you do? God loves you,” Yarboough said as Jenkins prepared to take her to the airport on Monday.

“We’re going go early enough to make sure I can get on the flight, and she is going to make sure I get checked in. Hands down, no matter wah de gwaan, I’m coming back to Irwin Meadows in the summer,” declared the American with a little Jamaican in her voice.

— Charmaine N Clarke

(Video: Charmaine N Clarke)