NEW YORK – As Hurricane Melissa raged in Jamaica, Sophia Brown followed its destructive path from her home in New York City. Since October 29 when the Category 5 brute made landfall, she has not heard from her family in St. Elizabeth parish. It is located in the country’s southern region.
Often referred to as Jamaica’s bread basket because of its bountiful farms, St. Elizabeth was hardest-hit by Melissa. Black River and Santa Cruz, its main commercial towns, suffered extensive damage. Many people were left homeless; infrastructure, farms and businesses were destroyed.
Jake’s Hotel in Treasure Beach, a coastal town in St. Elizabeth, also felt the brunt of Melissa’s 185 miles per hour winds. Globally-famous for hosting the Calabash Literary International Festival, the venue is temporarily closed.
Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness, whose father is from St. Elizabeth, visited the area. He admits it will be some time before the parish returns to normalcy. In July, during the general election campaign, Holness vowed that St. Elizabeth would have Jamaica’s third city. This would follow the capital Kingston and Montego Bay, the tourist mecca.
Brown was born in Kingston but raised in Carisbrook, one of St. Elizabeth’s many farming districts. With the assistance of her two children, who live in Kingston, she plans to participate in a massive relief campaign in the parish.
“As a Jamaican, it would be really, really bad knowing that you have the resources to give back to your country and don’t do that. My community where I was raised, it’s affected very badly; I can’t hear from my brother, my nephews and nieces, because I’ve been told they have been cut off from the main (road), so they can’t go in and they can’t come out,” she told South Florida Caribbean News.
Angel of The Hearts Foundation
Through her Angel Of The Hearts Foundation, Brown plans to send needed items to Jamaica. This will help people in her home parish.
One of Jamaica’s largest parishes, St. Elizabeth has a unique story. Black River was the first area in the country to get electricity, which happened in 1903.
Sir Donald Sangster, Jamaica’s second prime minister, was born in St. Elizabeth. Former US secretary of state Colin Powell, singer Maxi Priest, and rapper Heavy D all have roots in the parish.
