IN a bid to prevent food poverty and support the island’s agricultural sector back to production, world 100 metre champion Oblique Seville has donated $500,000 to United Way of Jamaica (UWJ), boosting the agency’s Hurricane Melissa restoration fund to about $30 million.

“When I saw the devastation I immediately wanted to do my part by assisting. The United Way initiative is something I think is important. The poverty in the affected areas needs to return to production, and anything I can do to get this going is critical to all of us,” Seville said at a UWJ press conference at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica office on Tuesday.

The sprinter shared that this project was highly important to him because he came from a household of farmers. He told the Jamaica Observer that as he observed the damage that had befallen Jamaica, especially those who lost their crops, livestock, and properties, he felt inclined to contribute in whatever way he could.

“My father was a RADA [Rural Agricultural Development Authority] officer and I saw the work that he did when he was alive. My mother is also a farmer and so it’s not easy knowing the magnitude of loss to farmers in the western side of Jamaica. It really touched my heart when I saw the devastation. So, for me, it’s been a pleasure to give back to the community and to give back to the parishes,” he said.

Seville, who was also named brand ambassador for the initiative, said that donating was imperative in times of devastation and, as such, he urged all Jamaicans to get involved, noting that no donation was too small.

“For me, agriculture is what I was brought up in. So any donation counts, it doesn’t matter how much it is” he said.

According to UWJ’s Officer in Charge Kerry-Lee Lynch, Seville is one of many partners who joined the fund-raising effort. She told the
Observer that the non-profit organisation had put forth $1.5 million as seed funding which was then surpassed by United Way Worldwide, which contributed more than $20 million, alongside corporate Jamaica donors Seprod Limited, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Jamaica Social Stock Exchange, Jamaica Agricultural Society, and Scotiabank.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green, who attended the event, lamented that the agricultural sector has been in recovery mode since Hurricane Beryl last year. He noted that though those effects were daunting, they paled in comparison to the devastation brought by Category 5 Melissa.

He thanked United Way of Jamaica and its partners for prioritising food security through uplifting affected farmers and fishers, noting that rising from the rubble would require all hands on deck.

“No matter what our station in life is, food is critical for our sustenance, which means that the most important people in our society are those who provide the food, and as we seek to restore the livelihoods of people in the most impacted areas, the best way to do that is to get them back to production, to get them to have a source of income again so that they can help their families.

“So I’m very happy that United Way Jamaica is very early, as they usually are. They were a wonderful partner in Hurricane Beryl and I want to let everybody know that based on the structure that we have it ensures that we do not duplicate efforts. Whatever is done through the United Nations complements the effort of the Government,” said Green.

Devon Smith (left), chair, board of governors, United Way of Jamaica (UWJ), chats with Oblique Seville (centre), world 100-metre champion, and Floyd Green, minister of agriculture and fisheries, during a UWJ press conference Tuesday at which Seville donated $500,000 to the charity organisation’s Hurricane Melissa recovery effort. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)