ANDREW Dixon and Andrea Bryan, owners of janitorial companies Omnia Plus Trading Ltd and Mundus Supplies Ltd, have taken a new approach to relief efforts, donating cleaning agents to communities muddied by Hurricane Melissa.

The two were seen in Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, on Sunday distributing industrial grade bleach and disinfectant.

“They have no water and most of these houses were flooded so it is a health risk, especially since kids are here,” Bryan said. “We don’t know what kind of germs is in the water, so that is what we are trying to combat with our donations.“

Sunday was their second round of house-to-house distribution in the area that was flooded during the hurricane. Several residents were seen still scraping mounds of mud and murky water from their homes.

“I’ve come a far way since the hurricane. I’m doing a second wash out now and I have to walk to catch the water at a pipe and come back,“ resident Omega Daley said.

She said she is particularly grateful for the cleaning products.

“This is the first time that someone has given us detergent and this is one of the things that we should have had at the initial stages because there is a lot of mud and we don’t know what is in the water,” she said

Another resident, Risizne Thorpe, said he wholeheartedly appreciates the effort being made.

“We appreciate this so much, but I wish we had gotten them earlier because we don’t know what is in this water, like [bacteria], and we are basically living in it,” he said.

The team bottled and distributed over 150 bottles of industrial-grade bleach and disinfectant.

“We came down because we saw the devastation and just wanted to assist, because the people have a lot of cleaning to do. These products are also concentrated so they can dilute it and get larger volumes,” Dixon said.

The business owners said they will be making several trips back to Catherine Hall and other affected communities to assist in clean-up efforts.

“Most people were concentrating on food and water only, and we know cleaning is one of the biggest things for Jamaicans, and these people have a lot to do in that regard,” said Dixon

“We know these supplies will help a lot with the cleaning and save people a lot of money, because these people lost everything. Each one help one.”

Andrew Dixon makes his way to Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, distributing cleaning supplies to residents whose houses were flooded during Hurricane Melissa  Akera Davis

Catherine Hall resident Omega Daley dips into this box held by businessman Andrew Dixon to get some cleaning agents.  Akera Davis

Andrea Bryan from Mundus Supplies Limited gives instructions to resident Jason Smith on the use of the cleaning agents.  Akera Davis