On Wednesday, 29 October, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency UK (ADRA-UK) launched an urgent fundraising appeal in response to the severe devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa across Jamaica. Entire communities have been destroyed, families displaced, and critical infrastructure significantly damaged.
ADRA teams are already on the ground providing emergency assistance. ADRA Jamaica, in partnership with the ADRA Emergency Response Team (ERT), has conducted needs assessments and is actively delivering cooked meals, food packages, and water to impacted households in Lacovia, St Elizabeth, helping affected families begin the complex process of recovery.
On Sunday, 2 November, ADRA-UK CEO Sandra Golding participated in 11 BBC radio interviews across regional breakfast programmes. During these interviews, she highlighted ADRA’s ongoing relief efforts in Jamaica and emphasised the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s commitment to responding to humanitarian crises as a faith-based organisation.
ADRA-UK is appealing to church members and supporters to contribute to this urgent appeal. “Every donation will help us reach vulnerable children, women, and men with dignity and speed,” said Sandra Golding, CEO of ADRA-UK.
Wenford Henry, the ADRA Jamaica Country Director, shared the following message with us. “In Jamaica, we’re seeing widespread damage, communities that remain hard to reach, and power outages in several areas. Even the airport was forced to close temporarily. Before the storm made landfall, our team prepared 800 food kits for children and families in need, ensuring we could respond quickly once it passed. We’re now assessing the situation and coordinating with partners to deliver help where it’s most needed. Please continue to keep families who have lost so much in your thoughts and prayers.”
We encourage you to watch the following video report from Wenford Henry, which discusses what they have seen during their needs assessment.
Thank you for standing with ADRA during this emergency in the Caribbean.
See the link below for more information and to donate:
Emergency Appeal - Hurricane Melissa | ADRA-UK
For more information or to support the appeal, please visit ADRA-UK’s official website.