KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Union Conference (JAMU) of Seventh-day Adventists (SDA), and its humanitarian arm, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Jamaica, have rubbished allegations that they are providing the Government with people’s personal data collected during Hurricane Melissa relief efforts.

There have been claims on social media that information collected by the religious body has been passed on to the state for use in the National Identification System (NIDS).

But at a press conference on Wednesday, treasurer of the JAMU, Pastor Adlai Blythe, said the information collected is strictly for the organisation’s record-keeping.

“Whenever there is a disaster, an initial damage assessment is carried out to determine the extent of loss suffered by individuals and then that information is used to coordinate the relief efforts that are given to those persons who have been affected.

“So our relief agency, ADRA Jamaica, as a registered charity, also gathers information for the process of sharing relief with persons but at no time is that information shared with no entity whether non-government or government. We have a data protection officer who works with the institution and we abide by all the data protection protocols,” Blythe said.

He was supported by Pastor Everett Brown, president of the Jamaica Union Conference of SDAs, who told the press conference that prior to Hurricane Melissa, the organisation was fully prepared to respond to the needs of those most affected.

“We knew that if Melissa was to strike land, people would be in need of food and water and so we gave our five conferences a total of $500,000 to purchase food and water and place them in strategic areas,” Brown said.

“After the hurricane, the church utilised its humanitarian arm, ADRA Jamaica, as well as its five conferences [and] we deployed our workers in the areas affected to get an assessment as to the needs and we distributed relief materials to individuals,” added Brown.

He stressed that the relief money came from the church and donations from partners abroad.

“We have not received any financial support or any support from the Government at this point in time. The resources that we have deployed, the cash that we have given, we receive those funds from our international partners, from the Seventh-day Adventist church abroad and from the Seventh-day Adventist church locally,” said Brown.

Emphasising the organisation’s commitment to supporting people’s needs, Brown pointed out that the JAMU is not against receiving assistance from the Government but stressed that the current initiative is not government-funded.

“As a church, we stand in the place of Jesus Christ our saviour and if Jesus was here, he would be responding to people’s needs and that is what we are all about. We provide support and if we are given materials to distribute because of our location right across Jamaica, we are happy to do that but right now we are sourced independently and by collaborative efforts, not the Government,” declared Brown.

He pointed out that ADRA is a registered humanitarian agency that exists to serve vulnerable people.  It operates in communities affected by disaster, poverty and social changes and is located in more than 118 countries worldwide.

— Billeane Williams