Hello Everyone:

My name is Paulette Jones of Kenovah Creates Tours, LLC. I am 100% Jamaican born & raised in Kingston Jamaica and now living in the USA. I'm grieving & bawling my eyes out for my country Jamaica and all hit by Category 5 hurricane Melissa October 28, 2025.

Their current pain and suffering hits close to my heart because 37yrs ago Sept 12, 1988, my family and I personally experienced and survived hurricane Gilbert (category 4 with 130mph winds). The devastation was horrible, trees fell on houses crushing people inside and flooding everywhere. The little food we had stored prior to the storm was ripped away and gone with 130mph winds, so to survive families had to share their supplies by creating community kitchens to cook outside on firewood in the yard to feed 10-20 people eating from the same pot as community meals. I was 15 years old at the time, and my twin sister & other ladies had to walk in groups for safety (protection from rapist & looters stealing our water) for miles to find clean water; standing in long lines of 30+ people waiting to catch freshwater for hours and take back to our houses.

As bad as Gilbert was impacting approximately 60% of Jamaica, Hurricane Melissa (category 5 with 185mph winds) was 100 times worse demolishing 95% OF THE COUNTRY. My very own fishermen town in Discovery Bay located next to Montego Bay is destroyed and I have drivers on the ground there in Jamaica trying to find my kin... no luck yet. Two of the hardest hit areas - St. Elizabeth & Westmoreland - are receiving global aide while other direct hit areas like St. James, Montego Bay, St. Ann's, Runaway Bay, and Trelawny are being missed. They still have no water, limited access to food, and many have lost everything they owned. Cell towers are down affecting communication, along with ATMs and bank systems are down so folks are not able to purchase food and much needed supplies.

As a travel agency, Kenovah Creates Tours has travel to Jamaica several times a year with groups, so we have direct access to local drivers, volunteers and local donation networks with armed security who can get supplies directly to the people in need now. As a Jamaican, I know the people, culture and speak the language so I will have much better success working with the local agencies and constituent to distribute the funds directly. This money will go towards Montego Bay, Discovery Bay, Runaway Bay, and Falmouth areas for:

• Hygiene products: Feminine products, toilet paper, tooth brush & paste, soap, mosquito repellant, etc.

• Clothing

• Food & Water

• Household items and tarps

• Fuel & tolls for the local volunteers and delivery drivers