Hurricane Melissa Relief Fundraiser 

The Call to Action

During the week of October 27th, Category 5 Hurricane Melissa devastated communities across the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti — claiming 50 lives (and counting), destroying homes and livelihoods, and cutting off access to food, clean water, electricity, and medical care. As PhD students from the Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora, as well as students in solidarity with the region, we came together to mobilize our resources and networks to support urgent grassroots relief initiatives. Our immediate goal was to raise funds to provide direct support to the most impacted communities and grassroots partners on the ground in the form of monetary and in-kind/supply donations.

Where Your Support Goes

Despite limited telecommunication service in the impacted regions, we worked to communicate with students and loved ones on the ground to identify trusted grassroots partners in the regions most severely impacted by the storm-- particularly the Western parishes of Jamaica (including St. Elizabeth Parish and the Maroon village of Accompong), the Eastern provinces of Cuba (referred to as "el Oriente," including Holguín and Las Tunas), and the Southern departments of Haiti (including Petit-Goâve and Jacmel). Monetary donations went toward essential relief, including food, medical supplies, hygiene and menstrual products, and other critical provisions provided by trusted partners. (Donations are not tax-deductible.)