By Neil Armstrong

A Hurricane Beryl Relief Benefit Concert will be held in Toronto at the Jamaican Canadian Centre on July 18th to help restoration efforts in Jamaica in the aftermath of the hurricane.

On July 3, Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 tropical cyclone, left two dead, hundreds of thousands of homes in Jamaica without electricity and water, impacting adversely mainly the southern parishes of Clarendon, St. Elizabeth and Manchester where housing infrastructure, farms and agricultural lands, roads, trees, and power lines were damaged, and flooding occurred.

The Global Jamaica Diaspora Council Canada (GJDC), Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council (GJDYC), Jamaican Canadian Association, the Alliance of Jamaican Alumni Associations, Big Promotions, Caribbean Queen Jerk, and Reggae North are collaborating under the banner of “the Jamaican Diaspora and Friends of Jamaica in Canada” to present “Hope for Jamaica: A Community Hurricane Beryl Benefit Concert on July 18 at the Jamaican Canadian Centre.

Jamaica’s High Commissioner to Canada, Marsha Coore Lobban, said her office and the consulate general had initiated discussions with honorary consuls across Canada as well as the GJDC and GJDYC members, presidents and heads of diaspora organizations and other stakeholders, Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA), Food For The Poor, and David McAnthony Gibson Foundation (GlobalMedic) to facilitate and support a coordinated response to the immediate needs arising from the disaster.

In a bulletin sharing an update on the situation in Jamaica, the Jamaica High Commission informed individuals and organizations interested in making donations directly to institutions and communities that the usual custom guidelines for processing charitable donations and supplies would apply.

Meanwhile, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Jamaica’s minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, said Jamaica is fortunate to have enjoyed excellent partnerships with its bilateral partners, the diaspora and the international community, the evidence of which is now being seen with the generous offers of assistance as the island recovers from the impact of Hurricane Beryl.

Food For The Poor Canada said it is responding to emergency relief following Hurricane Beryl. 

“Though our Food For The Poor warehouses in both Jamaica and the US are currently stocked with containers of food, hygiene kits, and medical supplies, these will be depleted very soon as we have already begun responding to emergency needs from multiple countries,” it said in an email from its executive director Geraldine Isaac.

Isaac said donations would “allow us to provide funding for the purchase and replenishment of critical care supplies such as: zinc and lumber for home repairs, food, water, tarpaulins to cover the hundreds of homes without a roof at this time, as well as hygiene and medical aid kits.

The Project for the Advancement of Childhood Education (P.A.C.E) Canada has a hurricane relief campaign for its P.A.C.E-sponsored schools in Jamaica. In an email it said the organization is in contact with the Early Childhood Commission to get damage assessments of its schools.

The Consulate General of Jamaica, Toronto and Consul-General Kurt Davis sent an email to nationals with details about a Hurricane Beryl Relief banking fund under the Office of Disaster Preparedness Emergency-Donation (Relief) through the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited.

The consulate also encouraged contacting the Jamaica High Commission in Ottawa or a local diaspora organization such as the Jamaican Canadian Association. “Contributions may also be channeled through Food For the Poor Canada,” it noted.

The four-hour relief benefit concert from 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. requests a minimum contribution of $20 and organizers have indicated that all funds will be donated to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. “Together we can make a difference,” they underscore.