On October 28, 2025, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a devastating Category 5 storm, also impacting eastern Cuba. The destruction left in its wake has been heartbreaking, with countless lives disrupted and communities struggling to recover. In the aftermath, we have been working closely with our partners on the ground to assess the immediate needs of survivors and provide critical support.
As communication and access to affected areas improve, our partners have been updating us on the challenges they face and the needs they are witnessing firsthand. While we are eager for detailed information, we remain sensitive to the difficult conditions they are navigating. Based on the information we have received, we have identified three key projects to focus our immediate response efforts:
1: Restoring Churches to become Community Support Centers in Jamaica
Two local Baptist congregations in Jamaica have been heavily impacted by the storm. We are committed to helping them restore their facilities so they can serve as operational hubs to support their communities during this critical time.
2: Additionally, we are working to develop strategies for food security, as the storm devastated farmlands that supply 50% of the island’s food needs.
Our partner, Eden Street Development Company Limited is a non for profit organization established in 2013 under Jamaica Laws. They hold a U.S. 501c3-standard tax exemption in Jamaica. Their approach is ultimately sustainable development and as such their efforts at disaster relief and rehabilitation have these end goals in mind: Relief, Rehabilitation and Development. Development will have to run concurrently with relief, which includes food and water, clothing and shelter. Food security is looming to be a major issue in short order. That being said, in the short term there are many people without shelter, food and clothing and so our efforts in the St. Elizabeth and Manchester regions will need to address those issues up front.
As a follow up in the rehabilitation/development phases, they will be developing a chicken rearing project which enables each farmer to be self sufficient and be able to feed a family of 4 by end of year 3.
Support for victims of Hurricane Melissa will be provided in collaboration with the St. Elizabeth & Manchester Baptist Association Churches (SEMBA). The SEMBA Disaster Response Team is being led by Kirk Pinnock, pastor of the Mandeville Circuit of Baptist Churches (includes Mandeville, New Green & Greenvale Baptist Churches). The Mandeville Church is currently celebrating 185 years of wholistic service to the community of Mandeville and its environs. It, along with all SEMBA churches, are members of the Jamaica Baptist Union (JBU), formally constituted in 1849.
3: Establishing Soup Kitchens in Cuba
In eastern Cuba, we are partnering with local churches to establish community soup kitchens that will provide at least one hot meal a day for vulnerable elderly individuals and children. These efforts will help address immediate food insecurity and bring hope to those most in need.
Would you join us in supporting these?
This is a time for the Fellowship to come together in love and action. We invite you to join us in supporting our brothers and sisters in Jamaica and Cuba. Your prayers and financial contributions to CBF Disaster Response will make a tangible difference in the lives of those affected by this disaster. Please donate here.
Together, we can be the hands and feet of Christ, bringing hope and restoration to communities in desperate need.