THE scenes of devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in south-western Jamaica has been very touching for some volunteers and relief responders who have been fighting to keep their emotions under control as they help those displaced by the destructive Category 5 storm which hit Jamaica on October 28.

Local non-profit organisation Crisis Support Charity has been doing relief work in Westmoreland and St Elizabeth since the passage of the hurricane and based on the experience of the team members, the situation in both parishes was not pretty, according to co-founder Luke Josephs.

A Crisis Support team went into the parishes with their medical partners to offer health care and medication for the most vulnerable, children and the elderly. The team also distributed clothes, food, and water to the residents.

“We saw babies sleeping in a cellar. Prior to our trip to Westmoreland, we went to St Elizabeth. There was a gentleman who our ambulance service had to rush from St Elizabeth to the Mandeville hospital because he sustained an injury to his foot, which appeared as if it had started to decay.

“He fanned us down and at the time, we were sceptical because there were a lot of things going on. When we saw his condition, there was no way we could have left that man behind. We travelled with our own medicine and our doctors and pharmacists who are trained to deal with those things,” Josephs told the
Jamaica Observer.

He shared that while in Westmoreland the team met an elderly woman who burst into tears after they gave her a care package with food items and toiletries.

“She is old and wasn’t able to go on the road to receive her care package like the younger ones. She said that for somebody to come into her home and give her something, it meant a lot. We have a video of her giving us a tour of her house. The roof was gone completely. The state of her house is terrible. Water damaged everything. She has no bed, fridge or stove. Her house smells like mould. When we spoke to her, she said she just got back water but she had no food,” Josephs added.

He said in communities in Westmoreland, the team witnessed a number of newborn babies who were exposed to the elements and were dehydrated.

“The need is great. We saw babies who were like three months old who were dehydrated. Our paediatricians had to offer medical support to ensure the situation doesn’t get worse because the babies lack nutrition. What the people said was that a helicopter would drop off 150 packages in large communities with thousands of residents,” claimed Josephs

According to Josephs, with a set up like that, the vast majority will remain hungry if additional support does not reach them. He pointed out too, that the medical needs of the people, especially the elderly, are great.

Josephs’ brother, Stephen, who is also a co-founder of the charitable organisation, told the Observer that many of the people who were seen by the medical team from Crisis Support, had no medication.

“We were able to supply them with some medication. We saw people with cancer, asthma and other major chronic diseases. We met a young lady who was injured in the storm and she got antibiotics for that infection. A lot of medication got washed away. We saw cancer patients with no medication.

“We saw someone with lupus who was out in the elements. There are people with heart condition who have no medication. There was one elderly woman who…our team had to organise a bath for her. We found a child who was very hungry. We fed him and when we went back he was crying for food and water,” said Stephen Josephs.

In the meantime, All Hands and Hearts Foundation, a United States-based international disaster relief organisation, delivered two truckloads of relief supplies and a Starlink device to the residents of Accompong, St Elizabeth, last week.

Accompong, a maroon village in the hills of the Cockpit Country, was hard hit by Melissa with many residents left homeless and without food.

“The damage caused by Hurricane Melissa was really difficult to see, not just because of the intensity, but its impact and how widespread the impact has been. Our motto is arrive early and stay late. We try to get in as soon as we can and then stay as long as there is need and we have the capacity to,” said Jess Sharman, a representative of All Hands and Hearts Foundation.

Co-founder of the Crisis Support Charity Luke Josephs tries to cheer up this baby in Westmoreland recently, following the passage of Hurricane Melissa which caused devastation across the island, especially in western parishes like Westmoreland and St Elizabeth.

Accompong Maroons in conversation with volunteers from All Hands and Hearts Foundation in Accompong Town, St Elizabeth, after Hurricane Melissa which devastated the parish. (Photo: Jason Cross)

Crisis Support Charity volunteers sorting through medication to be distributed to residents of Westmoreland following Hurricane Melissa.