Catholic health systems and relief agencies with relationships in the Caribbean are stepping up relief efforts after Hurricane Melissa recently tore through the region.
Considered one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in more than 150 years, the hurricane made landfall in Jamaica Oct. 28 as a Category 5 storm, the most severe ranking. It weakened as it hit Cuba the next day and then slammed the Bahamas. At least 60 people were killed.
The hurricane did not make direct landfall in Haiti, but at least 25 people died there due to severe flooding and landslides.
At the end of his general audience on Oct. 29, Pope Leo XIV assured everyone he is praying for those who had died and those otherwise affected. "I encourage the civil authorities to do everything possible and I thank the Christian communities, together with voluntary organizations, for the relief they are providing," he said.
Catholic health care response
Sr. Mary Jo McGinley, RSM, executive director of Global Health Volunteers, a health care services and outreach ministry of Trinity Health, said her organization's main in-country partner in Jamaica reported that damage in St. Elizabeth Parish was extensive. All those the groups serve in that area were safe, but most have lost their homes, she had learned. Global Health Volunteers has a team scheduled to go to Jamaica in January and they were requested to be ready to host field clinics in those communities.
"I think the early warnings were taken seriously in Jamaica and saved many lives, but the property damage is overwhelming," she said in an email. "There are only two major toll highways in Jamaica, and both are totally closed for the foreseeable future."
Erica Smith, executive director of Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, a ministry of Hospital Sisters Health System based in Springfield, Illinois, said that when disasters like this strike, the organization works with established partners on the ground. Those partners know what's needed immediately and have the logistical ability to safely and effectively distribute appropriate aid.
"We're blessed to work with organizations who provide help in an ethical manner," she said in an email. "That's vital, especially with emergency response."
Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach contacted a fellow organization, Midwest Mission, and learned that it was planning to ship a load of supplies to Jamaica through Food For The Poor. That group learned of an urgent need for adult and infant diapers, so the Mission Outreach team pulled its supply from its warehouse and contributed 4,000 diapers to the shipment, which was on the way to Jamaica just days after impact. They were preparing another shipment of supplies in partnership with Food For The Poor, and it will have requested items such as beds and personal protective equipment like gowns and gloves.
When Hurricane Beryl hit Jamaica last year, Mission Outreach worked directly with Food For The Poor to provide cots and other supplies, taking just over a week from time of request to shipping, the organization's fastest turnaround for a 40-foot container, Smith said.
Bon Secours Mercy Health's Global Ministries is supporting one of its disaster partners, Americares, with a cash donation, Camille Grippon, system director of Global Ministries, said in an email. She said Americares is mobilizing an emergency response to deliver health services and restore care in hardest-hit areas, and the donation will help reestablish primary care and essential medicines as well as provide psychological first aid and stress management for survivors and frontline responders.
Global Ministries is also working closely with its longstanding partners, Midwives for Haiti and Water by Women, on short-term and long-term needs.
"We are hearing from our partners in Haiti that the rain continued after the hurricane made landfall, and we are just now understanding the effects to our communities that are not featured in the news," she wrote.
To support relief efforts, visit www.americares.org or the BSMH Foundation to designate a donation to global emergency response. All proceeds received under the BSMH Foundation global emergency response by Nov. 28 will go to Hurricane Melissa relief efforts. For more information, email Grippon at Camille_grippon@bshsi.org.
Broader response
Catholic Relief Services set up a special portal for donating to Hurricane Melissa response efforts. It has 100 staff in Haiti and partners in Jamaica and elsewhere in the region, according to its website. "Our emergency teams are securing offices and warehouses, preparing prepositioned shelter and clean water supplies, and helping people secure their businesses, homes and fields," the site says.
The Catholic Medical Mission Board also set up a portal for relief efforts. They said partners in devastated areas requested hygiene kits and first aid supplies to care for wounds.
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, urged Catholics to pray for and support those affected by the hurricane. "Let us stand in solidarity by supporting the efforts of organizations already on the ground such as Caritas Haiti, Caritas Cuba, and Caritas Antilles, as well as Catholic Relief Services, who are supplying essential, direct services and accompaniment to those in need," his statement said in part.