Family, I’m reaching out with a heavy heart to ask for help rebuilding my mom’s home which was severely destroyed by Hurricane Melissa.

A little about me, my name is Thandika. I now live in the US but I was born in Jamaica, left when I was 18 years old. I’m a navy veteran and this effort is for my mom to rebuild our home, my childhood home.

My mother lives in Smithfield, Westmoreland, about 45 minutes from New Works District, where the hurricane made direct landfall. Westmoreland was one of the hardest-hit parishes in Jamaica.

When the storm passed through Jamaica, it left behind unimaginable devastation. My mother’s home, the place that held decades of love, laughter, and memories, was torn apart in a matter of hours. The roof is completely gone, the walls are soaked and weakened, and what remains of the structure is unsafe to live in. My mother has lost not just her shelter, but the heart of everything she’s built over the years. Seeing it now — bare to the sky, with rain pouring in where our roof once was — is something I can hardly put into words.

My mother is a humble person who has always been the one to help others in the community, even when she had little herself. Asking for help is not something that comes easily to her — or to us — but we’ve reached a point where we cannot do this alone.

We are trying to raise enough funds to rebuild the roof and restore the basic structure of the house so it can be livable again. Every contribution, no matter how small, will bring us one step closer to giving my mom a safe and secure place to call home again.

If you can donate, share this page, or keep us in your thoughts and prayers, we would be deeply grateful. Your kindness and support mean more than words can express.

A profound thank you, to every donation, share and prayer, for helping us rebuild not just a house — but the heart of our family.

With gratitude,

Thandika Rose