The Mercy family in Jamaica could not have weathered the aftermath of Hurricane Mellissa without help from our longstanding friends and partners. Following the hurricane, once safe to do so, work to conduct infrastructural repairs and cleanups was immediately started in order to ensure that schools could reopen as soon as possible. Mercy Education donated US$20,000 directly after the storm, which assisted the Jamaican Mercy schools in doing repair works on their campuses as well as providing aid to those in need.
In addition, based on their appeal to all Mercy schools across the world, Mercy Education collected a further US$29,000. Through this generous donation, 27 households of students and staff received relief supplies (valued at US$11,160.17 in total), and 7 damaged homes were repaired (with repairs costing a total of US$3,597.99 of the donated funds). Aside from Mercy Education, other well wishers donated funds totaling US$15,300. Thus far, repairs have been implemented for the following:
- Mount St. Joseph Preparatory School – Manchester
- St. John Bosco Vocational Training Centre – Manchester
- Mount Mercy Convent – Manchester
- The Alpha Compound – Kingston
Other partners also came to our schools’ aid such as the Supernova International Ska Festival (which contributed the proceeds from its online merchandise store to the Alpha Institute). Furthermore, the affected schools have found other ways of providing for the needs of their own populations. For instance, these include Mt. St. Joseph Catholic High School’s (MSJCHS) distribution of care packages to students and staff in need as well as the school’s provision of temporary accommodation for three displaced students. Moreover, Alpha Academy opened its doors to nine displaced students from Jamaica’s most affected areas who needed temporary placements at schools which were not severely affected.
This outpouring of support flowing to the Jamaican Mercy family has been truly encouraging. The impact of this much-needed relief can be seen in this expression of gratitude from one of our school’s staff members who received financial support from the Mercy family (see below):
“I would like to express my appreciation to the Sisters of Mercy and my Alpha Family for the genuine love and support meted out to me as a result of Hurricane Melissa[’s] devastation. My family and I suffered greatly and I must admit it has been hard on me getting back on my feet, but my trust is in God to provide for our needs in due time. […] Your kindness in the form of financial support from the Sisters of Mercy, has made some of the burden lighter to bear. […] I thank you both for showing mercy through service, which is the foundation upon which this organization is built, “Rooted in Mercy”. I know God will restore what I have lost and even in my need I will be able to bless someone who may have a greater need than my own.”
– Mercy Staff Member
