Hey everyone, my name is Joshua Shirley, and I am a proud citizen of the beautiful island, Jamaica.

I am asking for your generosity and assistance in supporting me to help provide meals and essential items for my fellow Jamaicans, as they have experienced devastation after Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.

The island has never experienced a disaster near the caliber of Hurricane Melissa. It breaks my heart to know that, unfortunately, lives have been lost, and many Jamaicans have to restart their lives from ground zero, as their homes and everything they own were forcefully destroyed by the storm.

In addition to the loss of homes, there are countless residents with no source of food who are dependent on assistance for survival. I am working with Chef Matthieu Masson-Duceppe, World Central Kitchen, and their amazing team to assist them with the supplies and ingredients they need to cater to thousands of people.

After the first step of providing meals, We will start rebuilding people's lives step by step:

Farmers have lost their crops and animals, which means they have lost their income. We will lift them up hand by hand;

families have lost their homes, which means they have no place to sleep

We will lift them up hand by hand

People have lost their incomes, which becomes a battle for survival

We will help them find it back

There are the impacts we will make by lifting our brothers and sister up in unity.

We will be looking to especially support the St Elizabeth Community, as they have been the most affected by the Hurricane. This area was recently severely damaged by Hurricane Beryl in June 2024, and it had taken them almost a full year to recover. The damage this year is substantially worse.

Currently, many roads are blocked, making communities unreachable. The government is working diligently to resolve this. We are in contact with relief programs waiting on the clearance of the roads for accessibility. As soon as we can access them, we will be providing as much food and water as possible.

Every dollar helps us feed families, rebuild homes, and bring comfort to the people of St. Elizabeth and the wider Jamaican community. I’ll be sharing regular updates and photos on the Instagram page @liftupja. I have created this page as I believe you deserve to see where your donations will be going and the impact and change you have made by saving lives. I cant wait for you to see the miracles we create working to rebuild the nation step by step

Thank you so much for your kindness, generosity, and love for Jamaica.