(FOX40.COM) — Convoy of Hope is sending disaster relief supplies from its Sacramento distribution facility to Jamaica to help families in desperate need of assistance after Hurricane Melissa.
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in western Jamaica as a category five storm, one of the strongest ever to make landfall. In its path, roofs have been torn from homes, roads are blocked by debris and entire communities have been left without shelter.
“The damage and the devastation is extreme,” said Ethan Forhetz, National Spokesperson for Convoy of Hope. “There’s no water, there’s no food, there’s no electricity.”
But amid the destruction, Convoy of Hope is stepping up to help. They’re sending hygiene kits and generators from their distribution center near Sacramento International Airport.
“What we’re able to do with those generators is get them to hubs in the community. Many times churches,” Forhetz said. “Many of them are able to connect for the first time, power their devices for the first time, and then connect with loved ones in the outside world to tell them, number one, that they’re alive.”
Despite challenges transporting supplies across the country through flooded, debris-covered streets, Forhetz said it took 21 hours for the truck to get to its location, drop off the supply, and return.
Convoy of Hope, with essentials from right here in Sacramento, is set on helping.
“Long after the attention of the nation or of the world leaves an area and moves on to something else, Convoy’s there working,” Forhetz said.
If you’d like to donate to Convoy of Hope’s Hurricane Melissa relief efforts, click here.
