The Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA) has launched a coordinated relief drive to assist victims of Hurricane Melissa, joining a growing list of local and international organisations responding to the devastation caused by the storm.

According to JRA President Rohan Wilson, the initiative grew out of the association’s desire to act decisively towards the rebuilding efforts. Wilson noted that the collective move took legs after a group of members began assisting on their own and outlined the grave conditions witnessed, which triggered a wider effort from the organisation.

“We sent out communication to the membership at large with respect to responding to the crisis at hand. We did have a group of JRA members who went out on their own accord prior to this being put together and they have described, effectively, what is happening on the ground and the need has arisen for us to take some action as a sporting association with members who are in a position to respond,” Wilson told the Jamaica Observer.

Wilson shared that the response has been impressive with members of the sport shooting community supporting through donations of cash and kind.

He, however, shared that while the effort will include the provision of food items, the focus is also on a medium-term intervention, which is hoped will have a more far-reaching impact.

“We have sent communication and so far the response has been good. We have been able to collect both cash and kind and so in the coming week we are making preparations to put boots on the ground in at least one or two communities in an effort to distribute some well-needed resources and relief.

“The Jamaica Rifle Association is probably one of the only self-sufficient sports organisations or associations and any Jamaican who finds themselves in a position to assist and refuses to do so it would suggest a lot… There is a strong necessity and there is no question that we are putting ourselves in a position to be able to help in what we hope will be a significant way,” Wilson added.

Alrice Palmer, a member of the JRA’s relief subcommittee, says he was moved by the experience of travelling to some of the hardest-hit communities and said the organisation is committed to doing what it can to bring support and relief to those in need.

“The response from the membership has been resounding, it was a great response and we have to give thanks to the members for all that they have turned out and provided for the relief effort,” said Palmer.

“I am reluctant to use the word that it was a successful relief effort,” he said in reference to the previous relief project. “There is a lot of work to be done but the impact that we saw from the hurricane has a resounding effect on all the members that went down there and we had the feeling that we had to get back down there to continue the effort.”

Wilson, who shared that several members of the sport shooting community were directly affected by the storm, says the JRA is still in the process of identifying the communities and projects to support.

“We do have members within the sport shooting fraternity who have been impacted. We have reached out to them and we are in dialogue with them, thankfully they are doing fine but we still feel the need to reach out to the wider Jamaica that have been impacted,” Wilson shared.

“The sub-committee is in the process, the dialogue is now taking place and we are narrowing down the communities. What we want to do is get into one or two particular communities and we want to offer what we consider some medium term help. So we don’t only want to be bringing food items, we want to be able to identify a project in a community, whether it be a basic school, a community centre – something that will benefit the community at large and add value through restoration,” Wilson said.