Trelawny women tell their stories
AFTER Hurricane Melissa destroyed her house in Cotton Tree, South Trelawny, leaving her and three children homeless, Kaydian Mendez is grateful as one of 11 women to receive building materials towards a new roof. In the hills of Albert Town, Trelawny, where the sound of hammering now competes with the recent memory of Hurricane Melissa’s harrowing winds, many women stand among the rubble of what their lives used to be.
Each of them lost something that cannot be replaced, yet each holds on to a fragile, yet determined hope, strengthened by home care kits and/or key rebuilding supplies from GraceKennedy Financial Group’s (GKFG) GK One delivered to families who were left roofless or had their homes destroyed.
For Mendez, the horror began with a sound she will never forget.
“It was so sudden when it happened,” she said, looking toward the fractured back room. “I heard the pop, the banging, like the whole back of the house was coming in. Then I saw the floor break. I realised this was serious.”
As the storm intensified, she rushed to pull her youngest to safety. “The little one started crying. I was trying to get help so I could take the smaller one out first. When I came out with the small one and tried to go back in, the door wouldn’t open. When I looked, I was already on the verandah and then I saw the top take off. I said, ‘Okay, this is serious.’ ”
Now displaced and staying with relatives, her children attend school only on a limited schedule due to roof damage at their educational facilities. “It’s hard. It’s very hard,” she admitted. “The little one is still shaken up. The bigger ones understand more, but the smaller one keeps asking, ‘Mommy, what’s gonna happen? What are we gonna do?’ I’m not okay, but I have to be strong for the kids.”
Just a few metres away, poultry farmer Marlene Wright-Thomas spoke of what remains of her chicken house. She, too, was among the women receiving a home care kit from GK One.
“Before the hurricane everything was alright for me in terms of farming, I had markets for my chicken. Two hundred of my chickens drowned. Since the hurricane, for many of us it has been tumultuous,” she said. “But with God’s help, we are coping, and today we are thankful for GK One. This package will go a far way. Some of us need a top for our houses, some need the amateur help to button up and all of that. So we are thankful.”
She was quick to acknowledge the broader community effort,from the councillor Devon David and Member of Parliament Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, to church groups and volunteers serving hot meals daily in the town. But she also noted the harsh reality many women now face.
“Some had their roofs removed completely. Some of the houses cannot be repaired at all. Some need a new structure and can’t help themselves to purchase materials. Building material is a great help. A great help.”
Nearby, shopkeeper Marcia Martin shared, “I run a small shop, and it has been damaged since the hurricane,” she said. “The roof went and some of the ply disappeared. We had leaks everywhere. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I honestly hope to the boss upstairs that I’ll never see anything like it again.”
Their stories are echoed across Trelawny — women carrying households, running small farms and micro-businesses, raising children, and facing the devastation with a courage that hides how afraid they truly are. The recent support marks one of the first substantial boosts many have received since the storm.
According to Rickardo Ebanks, chief digital officer, GraceKennedy, the decision to intervene was not simply corporate responsibility, it was a moral obligation.
“When we arrived and saw, for example, Kaydian, a GKMS/Western Union customer, standing in what used to be her living room, trying her best to hold it together for her children, we knew we couldn’t allow her to face this alone,” he said.
The GK One team hired workmen to reconstruct Mendez’s roof with the materials received.
“Rebuilding a house is one thing; rebuilding someone’s sense of safety and dignity is another. That’s why GK One mobilised quickly to get building materials directly into their hands,” Ebanks said.
Ebanks added that women-led households were disproportionately affected by Hurricane Melissa, a pattern the company is committed to addressing.
“Our responsibility as a brand is not just to offer financial services, but to stand with families when their backs are against the wall. These women are the backbone of their communities. Helping them rebuild is helping Trelawny rebuild.”
For Mendez, Wright-Thomas and Martin, the zinc sheets, plywood, cement, nails, and home care items are more than tools for relief, they are the beginning of a return to stability. The path ahead is long, but with each sheet of zinc lifted and each board nailed in place, a small piece of their lives comes back.
“I just want my kids to feel safe again,” Mendez said softly. “At least now…now we can start.”
Rickardo Ebanks, chief digital officer, GraceKennedy, and Kaydian Mendez look at her house being repaired. Mendez and her children were displaced when her roof was ripped apart by Hurricane Melissa.
