Rebuilding Lives after Hurricane Melissa

Good morning,

It was a big week for us, hurricane Melissa wreaked havoc in Jamaica where 4 of our staff are from (we've setup a GoFundMe donation page to support them and their families), we found solace in work and made chicken broth all week (back in stock) and we finished up a big batch of chicken sausage. Phew.

Here's our story.

On Friday evening after Halloween in Essex, Racey and I settled into bed and listened to the wind whistle around the corners of our house. Fall brings a change in weather and the wind of changing patterns often keeps me awake at night as I listen for sounds of damage. 

"Gusts up to 35 mph" from the NOAA website are enough to keep me awake and yet this weekend I found a small amount of comfort: at least we don't have sustained winds of 185 mph like those experienced in Jamaica...those winds really did some damage.

This year Sheneka, Precious, Keygon and Malik joined our farm family from Jamaica, each day they have brought their laughter, and hard work to the farm. We watched together as the tropical storm Melissa gained momentum and was a category 5 hurricane by the time she reached their homes on Tuesday this week. It is always difficult to be watching from afar.

All four are from Saint Elizabeth parish in Jamaica, one of the hardest hit areas of the island. Precious, Sheneka and I spent the whole week together making broth. I watched in amazement and disbelief as they showed me videos of roofs lifting off houses, and wind and waves flattening walls. 

Then as the worst of the storm hit communication went silent as all electricity and cell reception was cut off. The agony of not knowing is excruciating.

After more than 24 hours without any communication from loved ones and family we began to hear that all family were shaken but unharmed, and that just about everything in their small towns had suffered damage if not total destruction.

Keygon is from the town of Black River, which he described as being completely flattened. Sheneka, Precious and Malik are from the town of Treasure Beach and the surrounding area, which also suffered tremendous damage. 

By Friday morning, each of them told us they did not have a "home" to return to: family will be waiting for them and a community already starting to rebuild, however the structure they called home is either completely gone or reduced to one livable room.

What can we do from so far away? 

"The same thing you do in Jamaica" I told them. We rally our community to support rebuilding.

This week Racey started a GoFundMe campaign to support our four staff, their families and communities back home in Jamaica. If you are not familiar with this type of thing it is a website that makes donating and giving money easy. No donation is too small.

Please consider donating what you can to help support rebuilding their lives.

Donate Here

-Nathan