FALMOUTH, Trelawny — The Sandals Foundation Island Challenge Jamaica has reached its £100,000 fund-raising target, paving the way for the purchase of critical equipment to help restore neonatal and paediatric services at Falmouth Public General Hospital nearly one year after Hurricane Melissa devastated the facility.

The milestone was reached on Sunday as participants took on day three of the four-day endurance challenge, completing a 21-kilometre half-marathon through Falmouth, with the route taking them past the hospital that has been at the heart of this year’s fund-raising effort.

The achievement represents a major boost for the hospital which suffered extensive damage when the record-breaking Hurricane Melissa struck sections of Jamaica as a Category 5 system on October 28, 2025. Falmouth Public General Hospital lost much of its roofing and, consequently, critical medical equipment, furniture and appliances.

Sunday’s half-marathon brought the purpose of the Island Challenge into sharp focus as participants made their way through the historic town. Workers from the hospital gathered outside the facility to cheer on the runners as they passed. Nurse/midwife Monique McKenzie-Matherson was among those who welcomed the initiative.

Head of the paediatric department at Falmouth General Public Hospital Dr Kerri-Ann McKenzie (left) poses with Karen Zacca, director of Operations at Sandals Foundation. (Photos: Bwoy Pedro and Khandie)

“I am super excited about this initiative. We are really in need — the babies at the hospital and the wider community. “Melissa came and she did a number on us, and we are grateful that somebody saw the need and is willing to assist,” she said. Psychiatric nursing aide Shawn Daley shared similar sentiments, stressing the importance of assistance as the hospital continues its recovery.

“It is something I think we should do early. The devastation was very bad so the help is very crucial for the staff, community and the parish,” Daley said.

For the hospital’s administration, the £100,000 will allow attention to be placed on replacing the equipment that was lost when the hurricane ripped through the facility. Falmouth Public General Hospital CEO Carlington McLennon said the extent of the losses went beyond the visible structural damage.

MCLENNON… with Sandals Foundation we can now focus on the equipment and appliances

“While a lot of persons focus on the infrastructural impact we had, what they fail to realise is that the equipment, furniture and appliances were also destroyed as a result of us losing the roof,” McLennon said. “With Sandals Foundation we can now focus on the equipment and appliances.”

Head of the hospital’s paediatric department, Dr Kerri-Ann McKenzie, said the funding will help to replace several pieces of essential equipment while also allowing the department to acquire resources it did not have before the hurricane.

For McKenzie, the support represents a significant step towards restoring the hospital’s ability to adequately care for some of its most vulnerable patients. “Words cannot express how grateful I am. This is a significant contribution, and I just want to say thanks to Sandals Foundation and to the athletes,” she said.

The Sandals Foundation Island Challenge is being staged in Jamaica for the first time, bringing together approximately 30 participants from the United Kingdom — including athletes, travel industry figures and other supporters — for four days of physically demanding activities across the island.

The challenge began last Friday with participants completing a 10-kilometre run from Rio Nuevo Fishing Beach in St Mary to Sandals Ochi Beach Club in St Ann, followed by a five-kilometre kayak journey along the White River Fish Sanctuary.

On Saturday the group climbed the world-famous Dunn’s River Falls before heading to the Bogue Forest Reserve where participants completed a rainforest trek and joined a reforestation effort which saw 300 West Indian cedar trees being planted as part of continued recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa.

Sunday’s 21-kilometre half-marathon through Falmouth marked the third and one of the most symbolic legs of the challenge, allowing participants to see first-hand the hospital and community that will benefit from the funds raised.

The challenge concludes on Monday in St Andrew, where participants are scheduled to face a military-style endurance challenge in Newcastle before embarking on a partial hike of the Blue Mountains, reaching approximately 4,500 feet above sea level. Jamaica is the fourth Caribbean country to host the Island Challenge, following Antigua and Barbuda in 2023, St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2024, and Saint Lucia in 2025.

Previous stagings collectively raised more than £300,000 and benefited approximately 1,800 babies across the region.