Dear Baileyblog Readers,
So I took a few personal days and went to Jamaica to see my mother and to see what I could do in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
Thankfully, my mother is fine. At 100 years, she has weathered yet another storm, and weathered it well.
Amazing really, but that says something in and of itself about the resilience of the Jamaican people which my friend and colleague, Dr. Hilary Robertson Hickling, has written about so well in her book, White Squall on the Land: Narratives of Resilient Caribbean People.
But equally amazing were the reactions of many I encountered in both the city and the rural areas, but especially the rural areas that were hit hardest.
Question: How did you fare during the hurricane? (the question on everyone’s mind)
Answer: We have life. We give thanks.
Yes, we give thanks.
Now I am coming in from America with a great deal of anxiety having seen these devastating images on TV and worse yet the ones in my imagination and their answer is: “Give thanks.”
I am a person of faith, but I still could not get there…not yet. Give thanks!?
What about your damage I would ask: “It was minor damage. We have life.”
Now I know that where I was on the Northeast did not fare as badly as the other part of the island—specifically St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland, but there were losses everywhere. Furthermore, St. Elizabeth and Westmoreland are traditionally the breadbasket of Jamaica. Many are still marooned and are crying out for help, and they should receive it.
Individuals and groups in and outside the country are doing their part. It is so commendable to see the level of pulling together.…but more must be done…yet still I sense a gratefulness for life that I think I need on this side here in America.
I need to be more grateful for life, for so much that I take for granted, and I think it is the irony of ironies that people after being battered by a Category 5 storm that brings tears to my eyes, say : GIVE THANKS.
So I am thankful for these exchanges that I had this week in Jamaica. I learned so much. I came with goods to share and seeds to plant, but frankly, they gave me much more…a way of looking at life that I and maybe others sorely need.
Gratitude.
That said, I am pleading with all governmental and non governmental entities to do ALL they can to address urgent needs. I, for one, am hoping to see a UN Refugee style installation of temporary tent villages for those without homes complete with bathroom stations and other basic services of food, light and water. In the meantime, plans would be put in place for newly built hurricane- proof homes. I am hoping for clearing to continue and planting to resume as soon as possible in affected areas. I am hoping too that more of the country will plant –that everyone in every home will plant something. This, after all, is sustainable living. Even in times of bounty, planting a garden (even if just in a container) is a good idea. Finally, I am hoping that people will hold onto their lands and see them as wealth. I am hoping they will get all the help they need to get through this period and to build back better.
Much is being done, but more must be done and MORE must be done also to plan for the future.
But we still and until, give thanks!
Green Team International’s outreach to the Jack’s River community at Jack’s River Primary School in Oracabessa, St. Mary, Jamaica, November 2025
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Isaiah 58:11-12
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