Providing Relief After Hurricane Melissa

Sharon and her family huddled together in the bedroom while rain relentlessly pounded the roof and 185 mph winds rattled the windows. 

“I cannot describe the sounds— it was just awful,” she said. “We didn’t know it was going to be this bad.” 

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm and ravaged the western side of the island. Sharon’s home was among tens of thousands that were severely damaged or destroyed. More than 1.5 million Jamaicans were affected by the hurricane—the most powerful storm on record to hit the country. 

Sharon’s family not only lost their home but their livelihood as well, since most of their peanut and yam crops were destroyed. They were devastated and in desperate need. 

HELP ARRIVES IN JESUS’ NAME 

Less than 48 hours after the historic storm’s strike, Samaritan’s Purse airlifted a Disaster Assistance Response Team and tons of aid to help hurricane survivors like Sharon. We worked alongside dozens of local church partners to distribute shelter materials, household water filters, solar lights, hygiene kits, and other supplies, including more than 5,500 Bibles. 

Samaritan’s Purse sent 10 planeloads, totalling 618,440 pounds of emergency relief, to the island. Our helicopters also completed 156 missions, which included transporting cargo, medical and assessment teams, and water filtration systems. 

Sharon was thankful to receive a solar light from Samaritan’s Purse because electricity remained out for weeks. She was also grateful for the heavy-duty tarp our team provided that covered her home and prevented more damage to her personal belongings. 

“We are totally dependent on the assistance given by others,” said local pastor Erroll Bennett. “We thank Samaritan’s Purse for stepping in and sharing the love of God. Hope will be brought to people because they know there are people who care and that there is a God who provides.” 

In Sharon’s community and other places, we set up a water treatment system that daily provided thousands of gallons of clean water.

 In total, our teams set up five large-scale community units for people who lacked access to a clean water source on the island. 

“Without this water, they would be drinking from the river, which is full of bacteria. This water is keeping people alive,” said Reg Smallwood, one of our water, sanitation, and hygiene technicians. “We give them water and introduce them to the Living Water.” 

MEETING MEDICAL NEEDS 

In addition to wiping out entire communities, Hurricane Melissa devastated local healthcare facilities, including four major hospitals. We opened an Emergency Field Hospital in the flattened coastal town of Black River, where residents were cut off from any options for medical care. Our facility included 30 inpatient beds, an operating room, intensive care unit, emergency room, obstetric ward, laboratory, pharmacy, and blood bank. 

Vern arrived at our hospital with an infection and high risk of foot amputation. He had stepped on rusty nails while searching through storm debris and trying to salvage some of his personal belongings.

Our chaplains prayed with him while he awaited the medical team’s assessment. “I’m very glad I found Samaritan’s Purse,” Vern said. “I couldn’t bear the pain no longer.” 

He praised God that our physicians were able to operate and save his foot. 

Everywhere I look, I see God. There is no reason to fear.” 

Some storm victims were trapped in communities completely isolated by severed roads and bridges and unable to get to our field hospital. We sent mobile medical teams—often in helicopters—to these areas to care for people like Elorene, who was unable to access a critical medication because Hurricane Melissa had destroyed her local pharmacy.

Elorene praised the Lord for sending our teams to help her during a time of need. “God is going to see us through,” she said. 

The mobile medical teams, combined with our field hospital, treated more than 4,000 patients and performed many surgeries. 

Dr. Steve Haverly served on a mobile medical team in some of the most hard-to-reach areas on the island and saw the desperation that settled in after the storm. 

“There are people who aren’t going to get care any other way—the mobile medical team is the only way that they’re going to be reached,” he said. 

Dr. Haverly made it a priority to pray with his patients and to encourage them to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

“Medicine is a doorway to the Gospel,” he said. “If you look at Jesus’ ministry, it happened all the time. People came and they were looking for one thing—healing. And, Jesus offered the Gospel.” 

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

Will you join us in lifting up the following prayer requests?

•    For families in Jamaica as they continue to recover from the devastating hurricane.

•    That local churches will be able to minister to storm survivors and share the eternal hope of the Gospel.

•    That many people on the island will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

“Through love serve one another.”
 Galatians 5:13, ESV
 

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