CHICAGO-BASED Jamaican community activist Dr Ephraim Martin has thrown his weight behind the call for assistance with medicine or medical care for Jamaicans hard hit by Hurricane Mellisa, saying he would especially target damaged hospitals.

Dr Martin, best known as the founder of the 43-year-old International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA) through his Martin’s International Foundation, is mourning the recent loss of his wife, Justice Shelvin Hall; brother-in-law Franklin Sutherland; and cousin Johnny Findlay, but said his country needs him and he must respond now.

“Although I am still mourning their loss, which have hit me so hard, I am committed to help Jamaica by launching a
GoFundMe campaign specifically to help the tens of thousands of our residents who are sick, homeless, or cannot get the medicine or medical care they urgently need,” said Martin.

He said four hospitals in south and western Jamaica — namely Black River, Falmouth, Cornwall Regional and Noel Holmes — were severely damaged and would be his main focus. He described their conditions as “more than heartbreaking”, noting that others, like the St Ann Bay’s hospital, are stretched to the limit.

“While I am still trying to get over the passing of my wife and other emergencies, I will do the best I can to mobilise friends and others to support this campaign between now and the end of the year. Whatever funds and/or gifts [are] received by December 31st will shortly thereafter be given toward health care in Jamaica.

“We will have a certified CPA [Certified Public Accountant] to oversee the funds coming into the campaign and to publish, when necessary, the funds raised.

We have reached out to the Ministry of Health in Jamaica, and we are reaching out to the stricken hospitals for them to be aware and stay up to date on the campaign.

“We may have an independent hospital/medical committee to monitor and oversee the funds raised for this medical/health project. Once the campaign is officially closed, the funds will be presented to the hospital(s) and/or other Jamaican health facilities.

“This year’s 43rd International Reggae and World Music Awards will be held in honour of my wife, Hon Justice M Hall — one of its executive producers and staunchest supporters. It takes place on Sunday, May 17, 2026 at the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center in Lauderhill, South Florida, and a part of any proceeds will go toward health care in Jamaica,” Dr Martin said.

As partners in the fund-raising thrust, he named the Jamaican American Association of Illinois;
25th Century Radio; GT Taylor Production, and Francine McTeer, among others.

Dr Martin worked as a freelance photographer with the
Daily Gleaner before migrating to the US in 1982, soon after founding Martin’s International Foundation and the Black Heroes Matter Coalition. He has also produced the African/Caribbean International Festival of Life (IFOL) for 33 years, and the Jerk, Seafood & Vegan Fest (JSVFest) for 10 years.

In 2020 he led the campaign that renamed a section of Chicago’s iconic Lake Shore Drive as Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive, in honour of Chicago’s founding father, a black man from the Caribbean country of Haiti, noting that for over 240 years he was not properly recognised as Chicago’s founder, the city where we established a trading post in 1779.

Dr Martin received the insignia of Officer of the Order of Distinction (OD) from the Jamaican Government in 2022.

Dr Ephraim Martin (left) gets a photo op with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness at Rebel Salute 2019.