Since Hurricane Melissa visited Jamaica, many parts of the island and our “Yaad,” as they say, are gradually coming back to life and looking green and fresh again. ACE had committed to sending one 40ft container to Jamaica before Melissa hit the island on October 28th. However, once October passed, all plans were off as the backup for relief containers took center stage. The container that ACE had purchased even got sold again before we could load it. Now, that was a disaster!
It was a blessing to have more donations sent to us in Jamaica. With all the muscle we could gather a few Saturdays ago, as well as the help of ACE Board Members and their families, we were able to rent trucks and cars to pick up the items given and head to the loading dock where the container would arrive.
Just to name a few of the donations so generously given, we received about 350 fence posts for the farm, construction equipment and items to help us repair homes that were damaged in the hurricane (including a sawmill, paint brushes, and light fixtures), tractor parts, gates for the cattle, and even an ATV to use on the farm!
As we say at ACE, leadership starts at the top. Our Chairpersons, Dixon and Georgianna, were right there grunting and wrapping all the donations onto pallets and sealing everything with plastic. Allen, of course, was the main man behind the scenes, calculating every pallet like a puzzle and making sure they all fit together.
The container is scheduled to be packed this week and shipped. Who knows, some of you volunteers may be in Jamaica to help us unpack the container. Teamwork makes the dream work!
