It's hard - impossible, even - to explain what it feels like to have a place you love crumble before your eyes but my beloved Black River in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica has been clobbered by Hurricane Melissa, and reduced to rubble for miles. 90% of roofs in the community were damaged or destroyed, essential businesses have been ruined, the centuries-old Waterloo Guest House that I'm posing in front of is gone, St. John's Church - the place where our family's patriarch got married in 1826 while he was still enslaved - is a hollowed-out shell of its former structure, and the sea wall I'm standing against in the other photo here is flattened.

With your help, Black River, and other affected communities can bounce back better than before.

Here's what we're committed to in a nutshell:

Cutting out the middleman, funds raised will go directly to individuals and institutions that are the lifeblood of the community, for example the students and teachers at Black River Primary School. At 4 years old, I moved from Canada to Black River and began my formal education there at Black River Primary School. Decades later, my son learned long division there the summer before he entered 3rd grade. Fast forward to the early 2000s, my dad served as the chair of the Black River school board - you can see him launching the school's computer lab in the decade-old photo above with current Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who was the country's Minister of Education at the time. Black River's public history runs deep, but the people living there today are the true gems of this place. With your help, we will support them, for example educators, some of whom literally have no roof over their heads but are committed to teaching students as the country's Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams are fast approaching. Many of their students lack clothing, and school supplies and are experiencing food insecurity. We will help them too, and others in need.

Thanks for your consideration and your support. One love...Jamaica love.