In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s catastrophic passage through St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, the profound human toll extends far beyond physical destruction. For Janet Chambers, a resident of Middle Quarters, the Category 5 storm in October didn’t merely demolish her home but unleashed an overwhelming tide of desperation and powerlessness.
Absent during the hurricane’s fury, Chambers received the devastating news through a frantic call from her sister warning about her home’s precarious state. Returning to her property, she confronted unimaginable devastation: her kitchen vanished, veranda destroyed, and entire roof structure stripped away, leaving nothing but vulnerability to the elements.
Facing this catastrophe without immediate resources or familial support—being husbandless and childless—Chambers turned to divine intervention in her deepest despair. ‘Lord, you see God, mi no have nobody but you,’ she pleaded, confronting the impossibility of financing repairs with her limited means.
Her salvation emerged through the Middle Quarters New Testament Church of God, where Reverend Leslie Pinnock transformed sympathy into substantive action. Witnessing Chambers washing outdoors in pouring rain because her interior was equally exposed, Pinnock and congregants immediately covered her home with tarpaulin before mobilizing a comprehensive repair initiative.
The church’s Mission Rise 3.0 project identified three most vulnerable households, including Chambers’ and sixty-nine-year-old pensioner Wilbert Peart’s residence. Peart, surviving on a mere $14,000 monthly pension, described the assistance as fundamentally ‘needed, not wanted’ after the hurricane cracked his walls, destroyed belongings, and compromised his roof.
During a recent weekend, congregants from Escarpment Road, Middle Quarters and surrounding districts volunteered to reconstruct Chambers’ home. As she witnessed this collective effort, Chambers expressed transcendent gratitude: ‘If God never show up for me, I don’t know how I would manage… In everything, God stand by me and don’t leave me.’
While these repairs mark significant progress, both survivors acknowledge the long recovery ahead. Peart emphasized that despite profound gratitude, ongoing support remains essential for those living on the brink of poverty. The church’s intervention illustrates how faith communities provide not just spiritual comfort but tangible solutions when natural disasters exacerbate existing vulnerabilities.