Chinese community supports hurricane relief in St James

The St James Municipal Corporation is receiving support from the Chinese community in the hurricane relief effort.

Representatives of Chinese-owned businesses recently donated care packages containing food items, clothing, toiletries and other essential items for distribution to residents in communities impacted by Hurricane Melissa.

Chairman of the St James Municipal Corporation and Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Richard Vernon, told JIS News that the contribution benefited areas such as Green Pond, Sun Valley Road and Canterbury, among others.

"Part of the recovery process is to provide aid in the form of food and other items. Where we're at now, we provided some supplies for babies, diapers, food, clothing, you name it," he said.

Vernon noted that the care packages provided by the Chinese community along with other government and non-governmental individuals and entities are designed to help families meet their basic needs while the authorities work towards rebuilding damaged infrastructure and restore normalcy to the parish.

"We had the supplies issued through the support of Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and we have done that supply right across the municipality of St James where all 17 divisions, all five constituencies, have received supplies," Vernon pointed out.

In the meantime, the Municipal Corporation has initiated a massive clean-up of the parish, with work teams moving from community to community to clear debris.

"There's work to do and we have to work together,"Vernon said.

"We have to depend heavily on the support of the communities, and we also have to ensure that we continue to engage our international and regional partners because we can't do it alone. We need all hands on deck so that we can recover stronger," he added.

- JIS

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