For 20 years, Direct Relief, one of the largest charity organisations in America, has provided assistance to Jamaica.

The organisation’s contributions to the Save Our Boys and Girls Foundation Limited (SOBAGF), a charity operated by Speaker of the House of Representatives and Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural, Juliet Holness, was recently acknowledged with an appreciation award.

Genevieve Bitter is the vice president (VP) of operations at Direct Relief.

“Direct Relief established a partnership with Holness when she visited our headquarters in California in 2019, along with members of the National Health Fund. At that time, a decision was made to strengthen cold storage capacity in Jamaica. This commitment led to 20 pharmacy refrigerators being installed in public hospitals in each region,” Bitter told Observer Online on Thursday.

The VP continued, “Direct Relief has continued a formal partnership with the Ministry of Health and Mrs Holness has been part of those discussions, specifically as keynote speaker at the Caribbean Resiliency Summit held in Puerto Rico in 2023. The Save Our Boys and Girls Foundation is working all over Jamaica to deliver care packages and create safe programmes for children and business training opportunities for community members.”

Direct Relief has funded the implementation of solar power to dozens of health centres in Puerto Rico, Barbados, the Bahamas and Jamaica to promote resilience and recovery in hurricane-prone areas.

Bitter is quite upbeat by the recognition of the charity foundation.

“We are honoured to be recognised as a sponsor by SOBAGF to promote essential health services in remote areas. When Hurricane Melissa caused widespread power outages, electricity was maintained in key areas to enable a quicker response. The projects we are involved in are ongoing and more will be reported on in the coming days,” she disclosed.

“Under the leadership of Mrs Holness and along with the Save the Boys and Girls Foundation, Direct Relief funded some community projects in the community of Ursa. Mavis Bank Health Centre has solar power now, and she really had the vision for what she wanted to do in that area. We also built this playground at the Kintyre community centre,” Bitter shared.

Bitter also noted that the support to Jamaica is ongoing.

“Today we will meet with NHF where we supported the installation of solar power to the pharmaceutical warehouse that serves the country in the procurement, storage and distribution of medications. The support to Jamaica is ongoing. Direct Relief has been here for 20 years and will be here for years to come as the need continues due to climate change,” she stated.

Direct Relief has worked to help people who confront enormous hardship to recover from disasters and improve the quality of their lives. The tradition of direct and targeted assistance, provided in a manner that respects and involves the people served, has been a hallmark of the organisation since its founding.

Since the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October, Direct Relief has shipped pallets of critical medical supplies, valued at roughly US$1 million to the Ministry of Health and Wellness from Direct Relief’s Santa Barbara warehouse. Included among the shipment are antibiotics, insulin, vaccines, and protective equipment, among other requested aid.