Hi everyone! My name is Oshane Smith. I was born and raised in Jamaica in a small community called Petersville, which is in the town of Whitehouse and the parish of Westmoreland.

When I was born, in the early years of my life, I was raised in my grandmother's family home where my dad had a room where my mom, dad, and I occupied until my mom and dad started their own home. They started a wooden (board) structure. At the time, as a 6-year-old, I was bringing stones, wood, nails, and passing the carpenter's tools. I was a hard worker until the completion of my family’s 2 bedrooms, a living room, and a makeshift kitchen in the living area house. We were so happy for the completion of that structure to have our own space and to have a home of our own. After my little sister was born, it made us even happier. The four of us were living alright.

Storms came and went. By then, in 2005, Hurricane Ivan hit. I had never seen a hurricane, only heard about Hurricane Gilbert, so I was pumped to actually see a hurricane. For mine and my sister's safety, my parents sent us to our aunt's house, which was a concrete structure with a zinc roof, which was technically stronger for a hurricane than ours was. Then Hurricane Ivan showed up. It was a Category 4. There were winds, zinc flying, debris, leaves, tree limbs breaking and being uprooted, and of course, parts of my aunt's roof went. I was scared a little but more excited just to see a hurricane. After the hurricane, I went back home only to notice there was no damage to my home. There were no lives lost from my community or anyone close. All the more excitement to go to school to tell what I saw, not knowing the hurricane never made landfall. Maybe a handful of people lost homes, most only had damages. Jamaica was spared in my opinion.

But my parents and I did not want the loss of our house, so slowly we started to build from the back in concrete: a room, a bathroom, and a kitchen. The floor of the living area and the room before were also concrete. My dad has arthritis in his feet, so he did not want concrete floors all throughout the house, and he was very hesitant about the whole house being concrete for years.

Now, for the last four years, my dad has been living on dialysis 2 times per week and two visits to the primary doctor and to the hospital among other medical issues. As an adult, he depends on me for financial support. I have to send $400 per week just for dialysis before bills and groceries, but we were alright with that. We have been making it work. My mom tries too, but she also has her medical troubles. As the saying goes, when it rains, it pours.

But just when you think it couldn’t get worse, then comes Category 5 Hurricane Melissa that made landfall in Whitehouse, Jamaica, and has demolished everything in its path, including my home, our home, my grandmother's home, and all of my community. I came here on this platform asking for help not only for myself or family but also my whole community. We are all devastated. Your donations will be deeply appreciated and may save a life. Thank you in advance. Your fund will help to build back houses and to buy food and clothing.