By Christine Baer | Grants Manager
Jamaica Hurricane Melissa Relief: Recovery Built Together
In Elim, a farming community in western Jamaica, recovery after Hurricane Melissa has unfolded one step at a time. In the storm's immediate aftermath, All Hands & Hearts helped protect approximately 35 damaged homes with temporary tarps. Months later, our teams returned with roofing materials, installation assistance and a commitment to helping families move beyond temporary protection toward safer, more permanent shelter.
Elim's experience reflects a larger truth about disaster recovery: meeting an immediate need is often only the beginning. A family may receive roofing materials but lack the money to install them. A damaged home may be one challenge among many, alongside lost income, disrupted livelihoods and the struggle to restore everyday routines.
As All Hands & Hearts approaches the completion of its Jamaica program, we are reflecting on a recovery effort that has evolved alongside the needs of the communities we serve—bringing together practical assistance, local partnerships and different pathways toward a shared goal.
Multiple Pathways, One Goal
Through our partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), All Hands & Hearts has supported 1,318 households with roofing materials or hardware-store vouchers to help repair hurricane-damaged homes. This includes 220 households receiving heavy roofing kits, 129 receiving light roofing kits, and 969 receiving vouchers to purchase materials locally.
But providing materials was only part of the solution. For families unable to afford installation labor, additional assistance was essential. Our teams directly supported roof installation for 17 households, while 323 households received Cash for Repair assistance to help pay for the work.
These complementary approaches reflect an important lesson from the recovery process: a roofing kit can provide the materials for a safer home, but families may need additional support to turn those materials into a completed repair.
Recovery That Reaches Beyond the Home
Hurricane Melissa damaged more than buildings. It disrupted livelihoods, local economies and the community resources people depend on.
To help address these wider needs, 201 individuals participated in Cash for Work, earning short-term income while contributing to recovery activities in affected communities. Another 40 small businesses received grants of $5,000 each, supporting local economic recovery.
Our work also extended to community safety and preparedness. Approximately 3,400 people were reached through Build Back Safer education, including more than 1,000 who participated in in-person training. These efforts shared practical knowledge to help residents repair more safely and reduce vulnerability to future storms.
Additionally, 33 firefighters received training in CPR, catastrophic bleeding response and AED use, while 200 solar lamps were distributed to a community still living without electricity.
Together, these activities demonstrate how recovery can respond to different needs while working toward a shared goal: helping communities regain stability and strengthen their capacity for the future.
Recovery Is Built With Communities
Throughout the program, local relationships have helped shape how assistance reaches the people who need it most. Community leaders, residents, local workers and businesses have all contributed to the recovery process, bringing knowledge, skills and connections that strengthen the work long after our teams depart.
This is the heart of our approach at All Hands & Hearts. Recovery is not simply the repair of physical damage. It is the restoration of everyday life. It means a family living beneath a safer roof, a local worker earning income, a small business finding its footing again, and a community better prepared for the challenges ahead.
As our Jamaica program draws to a close, we see its impact not only in the materials distributed, homes repaired and people trained, but in the progress families and communities have made toward reclaiming their independence and rebuilding their futures.
Thank you for standing alongside the people of Jamaica. Your generosity has helped turn emergency assistance into meaningful steps toward recovery—and reminded us once again that recovery is built together, over time.
By Christine Baer | Grants Manager
By Christine Baer | Grants Manager
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
