Jamaica travels

For all of us who were glued to our screens in October 2025 looking at the photos and videos of the carnage that was unleashed by Hurricane Melissa, the absolute devastation that western Jamaica experienced was absolutely devastating. We felt saddened – but we also felt angry. Hurricane Melissa made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, tied as the most intense Atlantic hurricane of all documented time to make landfall. Let that sink in. Many people were not able to reach friends and family members on the western side of the island for an agonizingly long time, and for some, they learned that friends and family had died. This was in the context of some of those parts of the island still recovering from Hurricane Beryl in July 2024. So it makes sense to be sad, but why were (and are) we angry? Because we know that hurricanes are worsening in intensity and frequency due to the warmer waters, and we KNOW that those warmer waters are directly due to the climate crisis. It’s time to take our heads out of the sand. Those of us who live in the Global North have governments whose actions are directly causing this crisis, while the Global South, including the Caribbean and Jamaica, are directly paying the price.

We can all take action at the individual level to address the climate crisis: reducing our waste, monitoring our electricity use, taking public transit, not getting caught in the cycle of consumerism, and perhaps most importantly, exercising our rights to vote for politicians and parties that take the climate crisis seriously. Because it’s governments that can and must have the real impact.

In the short term, please do consider donating to TRUSTWORTHY sources as Jamaica continues to build back. We have chosen to donate to Food For The Poor, Helping Hands Jamaica, and through the Jamaican government webpage: https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/donate. Jamaica can and will build back but needs all our help!