The Andrew Holness Government deserves high marks for being able to mobilise significant financial resources, both from its own reserves and from external sources, to assist the recovery of the worst-affected parishes and people who took the brunt of the hit from Category 5 Hurricane Melissa. The largest sum is a reported package of US$6.7 billion over three years, secured from various international development agencies and partners.

Coined by the late former Prime Minister Edward Seaga in the 1980s, ‘It takes cash to care’ is the most enduring of political slogans, and was used to justify the imposition of tough economic policies following a raft of underfunded and unsustainable egalitarian programmes introduced by the democratic socialist Michael Manley Government of the 1970s. Four months after Melissa made landfall on October 28, 2025, and with many still suffering great distress from its effects, another type of cash is needed.

Some are quick to say they have no monetary wealth and use this as an excuse for not being able to assist those in distress. With the passage of time, the dire situation of those reeling from the effects of the hurricane has slipped from the top of most people’s agenda as they return to the daily grind of making a living. With the help of scripture, one may find a fresh approach to assist those in need.

Acts of the Apostle 3:1-7 relates the story of Peter and John entering the temple to pray. At the gate they encountered a man, lame from birth, who was laid there daily to beg for alms. Seeing the man in his pitiful state, Peter uttered words that have echoed across the centuries. “Silver and gold have I none. But such as I have, give I thee.” Not currency as one would normally expect. Nevertheless, it can be surmised that Peter gave the man C-A-S-H, which is to be interpreted as follows:

• C is for compassion, which has a quality beyond feeling sorry for the dispossessed. It takes more than sympathy to stir people to action. Jesus was moved with compassion to miraculously feed a multitude numbering over 5,000 people with a few fishes and loaves (Matthew 14:14-20).

• A is for association. To truly love people is to associate with and be among them. Giving talent and treasure is important, but giving time, through service, is essential. Jesus, in his inaugural address, quoted the prophet Isaiah in defining his role to be among and serve the poor and downtrodden (Luke 4:18-19).

• S is for selflessness. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan who offered assistance to a man who had been robbed while travelling a lonely road. Beaten and left for dead, he was passed by men of faith who continued on their way without assisting. It took a Samaritan, the natural enemy of the Jew, to stop and offer assistance. Jesus used the parable to teach the principle of good neighbourliness (Luke 10:30-36).

• H is for heart. Without a heart like Christ’s burning within (Luke 24:32), one will not be able to feel the compassion, demonstrate the association, or practice the selfless love needed to transform lives and the nation.

The Acts 3:1-7 story concluded with Peter taking the lame man by the hand and lifting him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankle bones were strengthened, allowing him to enter the temple, leaping and praising God.

C-A-S-H is not just cute phrasing, a play upon words or even a strategy, it’s a call to be family, as envisioned by our national motto: ‘Out of many, one people’. Members of a proper functioning family unite around a common goal; they look out for and take care of each other. Public commentators who have seen this as the essential quality missing from national life are speaking out.

A number of those impacted by Hurricane Melissa have yet to recover and are in need of compassion.

Reverend Peter Garth, pastor of Hope Gospel Assembly, during his sermon at the 2026 National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB) earlier this year, made an impassioned plea for unity, compassion, and national outreach to the poor and disenfranchised. “We don’t have to look very far. Melissa destroyed the western end of Jamaica. But the good news is that God has raised up many good Samaritans who have been helping many persons who are hurting,” he said.

In another insightful commentary carried in the local print media, businessman Howard Mitchell and convenor of the Watchman Church Leaders Alliance (WCLA) Michael McAnuff-Jones called for a moral revolution. The following extract sums up the core message. “Our ongoing cry for a moral revolution is not a new demand. It is the echo of an ancient vow with its imprint in Holy Scripture calling us back to integrity, back to justice, back to each other.”

Melissa, yet again, exposed the inequities and lack of inclusiveness in our economic affairs and social construct. Government, through its policies and investments in human and social capital, has a role to play in redressing these entrenched and debilitating problems that have come to characterise the Jamaican experience.

True brotherhood and nationhood will come only when we each commit to be our brother’s keeper.

Henley Morgan

Dr Henley Morgan is founder and executive chairman of the Trench Town-based social enterprise, Agency for Inner-city Renewal (AIR) and author of My Trench Town Journey: Lessons in Social Entrepreneurship and Community Transformation for Development Leaders, Policy Makers, Academics, and Practitioners. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or hwardmorgan+articles@gmail.com.