Dear Help Jamaica community,
Last week, Hurricane Melissa caused devastating damage in parts of the Caribbean. Jamaica got hit the hardest, particularly in the western and south-western parts of the island.
Melissa lingered over the island for an unusually long time and left a trail of destruction, especially in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester, and Westmoreland. The extent of the tragedy is already considered unprecedented in Jamaica’s history.
We would therefore like to take this opportunity to provide you with a brief overview of the current situation and show you how we can take action together:
The current situation in Jamaica
The current situation in the most severely affected regions describes an almost complete breakdown of social coexistence. This is not just about the loss of homes, but the destruction of the entire basis of life for all those affected. People are sleeping under tarpaulins or on the streets. Large parts of the island still have no electricity and access to clean drinking water. At the same time, the authorities are warning of disease outbreaks and looting.
Since gas station pumps also rely on electricity, there is a shortage of gasoline in many places. This means that food deliveries, rescue operations, and cleanup efforts are difficult or impossible. The same applies to the tense situation in hospitals. The Ministry of Health is trying to set up field hospitals and emergency shelters, but so far there is a lack of equipment, personnel, and other essential resources.
The challenges we faced
Although the word “Help” is part of our name, our hands have been tied until now. This is because non-profit organizations such as Help Jamaica! are subject to tax law in Germany. In our case, this means that we are bound by our statutes to support educational projects and are not allowed to use the donations we collect for other purposes without further ado.
The tax office regularly checks whether we are actually doing what we were originally recognized as a non-profit organization for. If we spent money otherwise, we risk losing our non-profit status, which would have far-reaching consequences for our work and ultimately jeopardize the continuation of our educational projects in Jamaica. For this reason, we have not yet been able to immediately provide funds to support hurricane victims and launch our own fundraising campaigns in the current situation.
The level of frustration with bureaucracy in disaster situations is correspondingly high, but we are taking action: we are therefore seeking to amend our statutes accordingly without delay. This will enable us to respond immediately to emergency situations of this kind in the future.
Developments in the meantime
In addition to our well-known projects and the partner institutions we support, we have also recently collaborated with the Great Start Academy near Junction, St. Elizabeth. We have since learned that the school building suffered only minor damage and is therefore still usable.
The necessary preparations are therefore currently in full swing to offer the local children and young people valuable educational day care and connections.
The founder and principal, Ms. Bent, acts as a teacher in addition to her management duties and is a trained psychologist. This means that there are also opportunities for pastoral care and initial psychological support.
We have begun discussions to see how we can support the school, but above all the students and their families. We are working flat out on the preparations and promise to present you with concrete information about the support campaign in the next few days!
We will approach you with a specific appeal for donations and ask for your support. Donate what you can and spread our appeal through your networks. Perhaps some of you would prefer to waive larger Christmas gifts this year in order to send the money where it is currently most needed. Unity is strength!
