Texans on Mission volunteers assess needs in Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica—In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s damage across Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, Texans on Mission has deployed an initial task force to support local partners on the ground.

The four-person team is working primarily with the Jamaica Baptist Union to assess immediate needs, develop recovery plans and implement actionable strategies for long-term community resilience.

More than planning though, they are responding to local needs by providing food and hygiene kits sourced on the island nation.

Texans on Mission volunteer and chaplaincy coordinator Melanie Howington said the team has been building relationships with on-the-ground partners and expected to move toward the most-affected areas near Montego Bay.

Assembling care kits for families

Volunteers also are responding to requests from the Jamaica Baptist Union to provide immediate aid to families.

“Their big need is to get some kind of a kit to some of their people in areas where the churches have had bad damage or were destroyed,” she said.

“And so we spent yesterday and today going to multiple stores. We had to divide up and buy canvas bags because you can’t have plastic here, then piece out kits for 250 people.”

The team worked with Jamaica Baptist Union members to assemble the bags with food staples like flour and rice, plus hygiene items needed by affected families.

The group’s efforts were slowed by some food and hygiene item shortages that forced them to source from several locations over two days, Howington said.

Even so, she added: “God does provide. God is good.”

The team also is networking with other aid providers. They’ve attended coordinated meetings with other governmental and NGO disaster response organizations for daily briefings.

They also met with a medical relief group, MedGlobal, and provided them with water purifiers destined for use at a local hospital.