Dread, uncertainty swirls among Vineyard Jamaican community 

Updated Oct. 30

After Jamaica awoke to submerged buildings, toppled infrastructure, and widespread electrical outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, uncertainty hangs over members of the Jamaican community on Martha’s Vineyard as they try to contact family. The Internet has been down across the Caribbean nation, making it difficult for some to reach their homeland. Meanwhile, local efforts are brewing on the Cape and Islands to help. 

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday as a devastating category 5 hurricane, the strongest in the country’s history. The violent storm, with wind speeds around 185 mph, ravaged the island nation; howling winds peeled roofs off buildings and floodwater coursed through the streets. With the hurricane having come to and gone from Jamaica, the storm is barreling through the Caribbean with 125 mph winds. It’s one of the most powerful storms to have formed in the Atlantic Basin. National news outlets reported Wednesday that dozens have already died in the Caribbean.

A spokesperson with the Jamaica Information Service, a government agency, referred the Times to its “Hurricane Melissa Relief” page that shows what the country needs and donations can be made.

Locally, on an Island that has a large population of Jamaican immigrants, some have sprung into action. Edgartown resident Sherice Henry Green, who is from Jamaica, started a GoFundMe campaign to support St. Catherine, where she grew up. Green said her home was in the countryside and her community has historically been one of the last to get support after natural disasters. 

“I know how scary it is,” Green said, recounting her childhood when there were weeks and even months of no electricity following powerful storms. Fallen trees and landslides also make it difficult to reach nearby towns for potential supplies. Green has seen videos of intense rain and damaged buildings even before the hurricane made landfall, prompting her to take action.

Green’s family home was severely damaged by Melissa but she was able to confirm her family members were safe in a relative’s home with a “good structure.” But they had run out of batteries and Green had not been able to contact them since. 

“As of yesterday, they are ok,” Green told The Times on Wednesday afternoon.

While Green said her family was safe, not everyone can be as certain. She has heard from others in the Island Jamaican community who have not heard from their families, including a woman from St. Ann. 

“Everybody’s saying the same thing: you can’t reach anyone because there’s no electricity anywhere,” Green said. 

Pastor Donna Howell, who leads New Life Ministries International M.V., a Pentecostal church that gathers at the Strand Theatre in Oak Bluffs, said some members of her congregation also haven’t been able to contact family members in Jamaica. 

“We are just praying they are ok,” Howell said. Howell, who is from St. Mary, said her family was able to connect to Wi-Fi and let her know they were safe. 

Howell said the Jamaican community has been intensely focused on the news. Southern parishes that were the first to experience the hurricane’s landfall, like St. Elizabeth and Manchester, suffered “great damage” from flooded hospitals to toppled utility poles. 

Howell leads congregations on the Vineyard and Hyannis, and she said options for how to help the country are still under consideration. Howell said the Hyannis congregation had done “barrel drives” during past storms, stuffing barrels full of supplies like clothes and nonperishables based on specific needs. Those barrels would then be shipped to a wharf in Kingston or Montego Bay in Jamaica. 

Still, Howell highlighted that since it’s early after the hurricane passed, the Jamaican community was still gathering information. 

“It’s still early days, but we will be offering help in any way we can,” Howell said. 

Meantime, Howell highlighted a GoFundMe campaign headed by Pastor David G. Brown, who leads Emmanuel Faith Ministries in North Truro and is also affiliated with New Life Ministries, meant to support Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa. 

Green asked people to “keep us in your prayers,” adding that many Vineyarders have reached out looking for ways to help. 

“The support and love has been so heartwarming,” Green said. 

There are also various nonprofit organizations fundraising to help Caribbean islands struck by the hurricane. The Associated Press compiled a short list of groups helping Jamaica, like American Friends of Jamaica, and reported “experts recommend using sites like Charity Navigator or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance to check out unfamiliar charities before donating.”

Updated with information from the Jamaica Information Service.