Dancehall fans in Stuttgart partied for Jamaica on November 1 at the Loft Club, a popular venue in that German city, playing the latest hits from The Rock. Leading the charge was the Jugglerz Sound, which has strong ties to the Jamaican entertainment scene.

Christopher “Chris Black” Mendy, one of the selectors for Jugglerz Sound, told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash that approximately €1000 was collected from patrons and his colleagues — Smo, Dj Cutlass, Dj Meska, Shotta Paul, and Sir Jai — to assist a family in Westmoreland.

“While we already donated privately to the official (government) site supportjamaica.gov.jm, this first collection is intended to directly help people affected. We have close friends in Belmont, Westmoreland; Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth; and Salt Spring, Montego Bay. They are all affected, but the situation in Belmont seems to be the most difficult one,” said Chris Black.

“People’s houses and shops are destroyed. They need basic stuff. They have even difficulties drying their things. They’re sleeping in cars right now. Not to mention the trauma of your life belongings being ripped away in a horrific thunderstorm,” he continued.

Belmont is the hometown of reggae legend Peter Tosh. Like most of Westmoreland, it suffered wide-scale damage from Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 brute, which made landfall in Jamaica on October 29, packing 185 miles per hour winds.

Westmoreland and the neighbouring parishes of St Elizabeth and St James have been the hardest hit areas.

Businesses, farms, homes, roads, and bridges have been destroyed, with over 30 deaths recorded by the Government.

Chris Black, who is from The Gambia in West Africa, noted that Westmoreland is special for the Jugglerz Sound team. They have played at the popular Dream Weekend series in Negril, as well as the weekly Weddy Weddy dance in Kingston.

“We will continue to collect donations at events and we are also going to set up an online platform for people to donate to us. Jugglerz, as a business, will also donate, this is just really quick first aid by us as private persons,” he said.

While its members have been active since the late 1990s, the Jugglerz Sound and Jugglerz Records were officially launched in 2012. They have collaborated with many Jamaican artistes, including Charly Black, Beenie Man, Romain Virgo, Christopher Martin, Chi Chi Ching, and German singer Gentleman.