January 4- ROWW started the 2026 year with boots on the ground in Jamaica for the third time. Our mission this time was to help rebuild structures that were damaged by Hurricane Melissa, along with distributing supplies.
Our teams started the deployment with a small rebuild project for a resident in Spring Mount. Many of the homes in this area were stripped down to the foundation. Our teams helped two families build temporary shelters for them to reside in until their homes were rebuilt. ROWW also assisted another resident who did not even have the foundation of her home. Our team worked together to build a small shack with a tarped roof for her to shelter in.
On January 7th, 2026, the ROWW team started the day by gathering its donated supplies and taking them to Norwood Basic Elementary School, where we repaired a roof on our previous deployment. Our teams distributed the supplies to the families of the children at the school. Our Incident Command, Jill Ashlock, then met with the principal of the school to assess the work we had done on the previous deployment and see if it needed any other work.
The following day, our team of volunteers travelled to Sunderland, where they started work on the roof of another school in the area. Our teams worked all day to apply plywood and tarps to the roof. After that was finished, they worked to clear debris from inside the school so that the children could return as soon as possible.
On January 9th, 2026, our crew had a beach cleanup day on One Man Beach near Hip Strip. Throughout the day, our volunteers filled 19 bags of trash and debris. They were able to coordinate with waste management, which picked up the bags of trash at the end of the day, leaving the beach clean for locals to enjoy once again.
Over the next couple of days, our teams performed small debris cleanup projects. Our Incident Command met with a woman from Rockhouse who recommended a resident with a family of 7 who is in desperate need in the Red Mount area of Anchovy. Without an exact address, ROWW went into the mountains to Anchovy in search of this resident and her family. After asking around, our team located her and her family and assisted with getting her home dry. They used sheets of zinc metal and tarps.
On ROWW’s last day, they made a final push to distribute all remaining donated items to the people in St. John’s Hall. After that, our team of hard-working volunteers left to head back home after completing 590 volunteer hours. Reach Out WorldWide is so grateful for the people of Jamaica and all of our volunteers who helped make this lasting impact.
We thank you for your support! If you would like to make a donation to this deployment please click here.
