KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories about government accountability. This story was shared through a viewer tip in response to KSHB 41's coverage of Hurricane Melissa. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Jamaica is in recovery mode after Hurricane Melissa slammed into its shores, leaving communities across the country destroyed.
A nonprofit with ties to the Kansas City area survived the storm and is now helping others pick up the pieces.
Hurricane Melissa left much of Jamaica without power, internet and infrastructure. The storm reached winds of up to 185 miles per hour, making it the strongest in Jamaica's recent history and causing widespread devastation across the island.
Won by One to Jamaica's executive director explained that he had never experienced a hurricane before Melissa.
"The western portion of the island, they just lost pretty much everything," Bryan Fellers said. "It was devastating."
Kansas City native Fellers arrived in Harmons, Jamaica, two weeks ago to work with the Christian nonprofit Won by One. The organization has been working in the small community of 2,000 people for 38 years.
Fellers explained that though the community is small, the people are mighty.
"Jamaican people are resilient," Fellers said. "Trees down everywhere, no power at all, and yet they had a smile on their face, and they were laughing."
Won by One's program coordinator explained that the small community was blessed to see no fatalities or significant injuries.
"It's a low-income community, but we learn to support each other by us loving each other," Vernel Pitter said.
For Jamaica, hurricanes are not uncommon. But Won by One's financial coordinator and community empowerment officer explained that the community response remains consistently strong.
"We are not strangers to hurricanes," Tyrone Gregory said. "We have just been grateful that we have a community like we have here, where people check on each other, people come out to make sure that they're able to help."
Hurricane Melissa was initially heading straight for Harmons before it quickly changed paths.
"The hurricane was headed directly for Harmons, and hundreds and thousands of people were praying, and all of a sudden, before it hit the land, it just made a left-hand turn," Fellers said. "That spared a lot of lives for people who had no shelter whatsoever."
Despite the destruction, the storm couldn't destroy the strength of the Jamaican community. Residents immediately began working together to clear debris and help their neighbors recover.
"Even now, people are on the streets and they're helping to clear the debris from the road. So it's really good to see everybody rallying and coming together and doing it in true Harmons fashion," Gregory said. "It's absolutely our bread and butter. This is what we do. This is how we are in a crisis. You'll see the best in our people, in coming out and being there for each other."
Despite working with limited resources, Won by One is starting to help communities outside of Harmons reach recovery.
"Some people have lost their roof, portions of that, everything inside is soaked, that sort of thing," Gregory said. "People are pulling together to help them."
The storm has left many families without communication with loved ones in other parts of the island.
"[My wife is] very worried about her other family outside of Harmons, because there's no contact, internet, no phone, no nothing," Pitter said.
Despite the challenges, the community remains determined to rebuild.
"The people are doing the best that they can to get things back to normal," Gregory said. "One thing I want everybody to know is that Jamaica is resilient. We are not daunted by this. We have the will to continue to press on and persevere, and we will overcome this, because that's who we are."
Fellers knows the generosity of Kansas City extends far beyond the metro area, with donations going directly to hurricane relief efforts. Won by One's connection to Jamaica began with hurricane relief efforts for Hurricane Gilbert nearly 40 years ago.
"When people give to us, 100% of it goes to Jamaica and helping others, just helping people get back on their feet again," Fellers said. "People in Kansas City do have huge, generous hearts, and I would implore them to embrace Jamaica and to give generously to the hurricane relief fund."
Information about donations to Won by One and Jamaica can be found here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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