My name is Jessi . I was born and raised in Jamaica and am now a U.S. citizen, but my roots, my memories, and my people are in the Jamaican countryside. Today, my family and friends back home are in desperate need of help after Hurricane Melissa tore through rural communities in Hanover and Clarendon.

This storm didn’t just knock down trees—it shattered entire communities. People who spent years and decades slowly building their homes now stand in front of broken rooftops, flooded bedrooms, and damaged farms. It took years to build what they had. It took one night for the hurricane to tear it apart.

Who I Am & Why I’m Helping

I grew up in these same communities. The people I’m raising funds for are my relatives and lifelong neighbors: cousins, aunties, childhood friends, and elders who watched me grow up. I speak with them regularly and am getting updates and voice notes of the damage and their needs.

I will personally shop, pack, and ship barrels of supplies from the USA and work with trusted family members and community contacts in Jamaica to distribute everything directly to those most affected in the countryside. I understand that I am responsible for using these funds exactly as described and will share updates and photos as we purchase items, pack barrels, and deliver supplies.

The Reality Right Now

Many of these homes were built by our grandparents and great-grandparents with their bare hands—mixing concrete in buckets, carrying blocks on their heads, saving every little bit to buy one sheet of zinc at a time. Every wall, every corner has a memory. Now those same walls are cracked, soaked, or gone.

The blue water we grew up with—rivers, streams, and standpipes that gave life to the village—is now brown and muddy, full of debris. It’s no longer safe to drink, but many have no choice.

Roads are washed away or blocked by fallen trees, boulders, and power lines, making it nearly impossible and unsafe to go in or out. Government help will take time to reach small rural areas like ours, and while they wait, people are trying to survive with almost nothing.

Inside These Damaged Homes

Babies are wet and cold, sleeping on damp mattresses with no dry blankets, and little to no formula or baby cereal left.

Elders sit quietly in the dark, with no electricity and no running water, trying to keep their medication and a few important documents dry.

Parents are skipping meals so their children can eat, telling them they’re “already full” while their own stomachs are empty.

Animals—dogs and cats who are family—are wandering through mud and debris, hungry, shaking, and confused because their homes and familiar smells are gone. Families who have lost almost everything are still breaking up their own food to share with them because they can’t bear to see their animals suffer.

The Threat of Land Loss

On top of all this, investors and opportunists are already circling, trying to convince desperate families to sell their land for far less than it’s worth. This land is not just property—it is grandmother’s land, great-grandmother’s land, passed down through generations.

Without support, some families may feel they have no choice but to sell just to eat or fix a roof. I refuse to stand by and watch that happen.

I am creating this GoFundMe to give them another option: survive, rebuild, and keep what belongs to them.

How Every Dollar Will Be Used

Your donations will go toward practical, everyday things that families in the countryside need right now to survive and slowly rebuild.

1. Food & Groceries

Rice, flour, sugar, cornmeal, canned meats and fish (corned beef, tuna, sardines, mackerel, sausage, spam), pasta, noodles, ramen, mac and cheese, cooking oil, tomato sauce, seasonings, canned milk (condensed, evaporated), and oats. These are foods that stretch, feed multiple people, and can handle power outages and limited refrigeration.

2. Baby & Children’s Essentials

Formula and baby cereal, diapers and wipes, rash cream and baby soap, small blankets, onesies, and simple clothing—so parents don’t have to choose between feeding themselves and caring for their little ones.

3. Household & Personal Care

T-shirts, shorts, simple dresses, underwear, socks, towels, sheets, light blankets, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, sanitary pads, tissue, and basic cleaning supplies. These small things help people feel clean, warm, and human again.

4. Pet Food & Animal Care

Dog and cat food and basic supplies so families don’t have to starve their pets or share their already-limited food. In our culture, dogs and cats are family—they guard the yard, walk with the children to the lane, and curl up at grandparents’ feet.

5. Shipping, Barrels & Distribution

Barrel containers, packing materials (boxes, bags, tape, labels), shipping from the USA to Jamaica, clearing customs so barrels can be released, and local transportation (taxis, vans, small trucks) from the wharf up into the rural communities. This is how we make sure the items actually reach the families who need them—not just sit in a warehouse.

6. Emergency Home Repairs (If Funds Allow)

If there’s enough after food and essentials, some funds may help with tarps, zinc, plywood, nails, and basic tools for quick fixes to cover torn roofs, secure doors, and keep out rain. These are not full rebuilds—just emergency repairs so families can sleep somewhere safer and drier while they figure out next steps.

Your Impact

Every contribution matters:

• $25 can provide a week’s worth of basic groceries for a family

• $50 can cover baby essentials for a month

• $100 can help with emergency roof repairs to keep a family dry

• $200+ can fill and ship a barrel of supplies to multiple families

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with Jamaica’s countryside families and their animals as we recover from Hurricane Melissa. When many people give a little, together we can do something life-changing for these communities.

Jamaica, one love.