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“We arrive as soon as we can, and as long as we have the capacity, we’ll stay as long as we need,” she said in a phone interview Wednesday night. “We want to help people rebuild their lives.” The team sheltered in place during the worst of the Category 5 storm, which included whipping, 185-mph winds and 14-foot storm surges near its landfall at New Hope. Emergency relief efforts were underway Thursday in the northern Caribbean islands hardest hit by the hurricane, including Cuba and Haiti. Melissa destroyed homes, washed away roads and left thousands without power. Catastrophic flooding claimed at least 30 lives in Haiti, officials said. At least 14 people have died in Jamaica, and police said they expected the death toll to keep rising. According to Sharman, she and her team spent Wednesday trying to get in touch with those in need in order to formulate a relief plan. “Today was about accessing communities, because that’s the biggest issue. We’ve got a bigger team coming in with more supplies to help once we’re into the affected areas,” Sharman explained. “And that’s also when we’ll start doing things like debris removal, clearing mud and water. “It’s still very early in the process, it’s still very much an active situation,” she said. Kingston, which is located on Jamaica’s southeastern coast, avoided the worst of the storm’s disastrous effects. But many people there have homes or families on other parts of the island and are unable to establish consistent communication with them, Sharman explained. “The biggest fear at the moment is the fear of the unknown… people don’t know what situation their family is in, or what they might go home to. It’s quite heartbreaking.” For the Jamaican community in Cape Cod, their fear was felt by Pastor David Brown, founder and leader of Emmanuel Faith Ministries in Truro. A day after the hurricane hit Jamaica, Brown, who is also Jamaican, launched a GoFundMe to provide direct relief to hurricane victims after members of his congregation expressed hopelessness. Most members of Emmanuel Faith Ministries are Jamaicans who work in the service and hospitality industry on the Cape, Brown said in an interview. Many came to him on Tuesday for emotional support. “Some people haven’t even heard from their family. They [community members] come to me and say ‘My house, my family, it’s all gone’” he said. “Can you imagine how painful that is?” Brown said the church is trying to raise as much money as possible to help victims when “the reality hits.” “That’s when the pain really begins because having nowhere to sleep, no food, all shops are down, health centers are down, farms are destroyed,” he said in an interview. “It’s going to be even worse.” As of Thursday evening, more than $10,000 had been raised, according to the site. Brown plans to communicate with a friend in Jamaica to help distribute the money for clothing, food, and shelter in the aftermath of the hurricane. “We will do whatever we can,” Brown said. Elsewhere in Massachusetts, For A Better Jamaica,a Worcester-based nonprofit, is raising money for disaster relief. “We want to give people tangible ways to help in Jamaica,” said Bridgette Hylton, an official with the nonprofit. “...to rally some support for this place that’s very special to us and dear to our hearts.” For A Better Jamaica is supported by people from the island who have settled in the Worcester area. Over time, they’ve provided support for schools on the island, Hylton said. The Jamaican community in Massachusetts is watching for updates on recovery efforts on the island. “We know there’s still people unaccounted for, a lot of people haven’t heard from folks,” she said. But that’s why “it was very important for us to do something,” she explained. And donations have already started to pour in, not just in Worcester but around the state. “We’re grateful to everyone that’s contributed. People have been very generous,” Hylton said.
