Diaspora plans Christmas support for children
Published:Tuesday | December 16, 2025 | 12:08 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
A consortium of diaspora leaders is preparing a major Christmas initiative for children in western Jamaica affected by Hurricane Melissa.
The effort will include a toy drive for children who lost belongings, holiday meals and gatherings to restore a sense of normality, school-based programmes powered by solar energy in communities still without electricity, and the creation of safe play spaces to encourage emotional expression and peer bonding.
Distribution of hundreds of toys will begin next Monday and continue throughout the week. The organisers describe the activities as more than seasonal festivities, calling them therapeutic interventions intended to help children regain stability, belonging and hope. The goal, they say, is to offer “a moment of joy and community connection at a time when families need it most”.
The consortium, led by Dr Trisha Bailey, also includes Dr Karren Dunkley, Dr Beverley Nichols and Pastor Denese Hall. They argue that a defining feature of their approach is its deliberate focus on children, recognising that disasters have immediate and lasting effects on young people’s emotional wellbeing. “By integrating energy resilience, digital connectivity, Christmas relief programme and mental health support, the diaspora leaders has advanced a holistic model of diaspora-led recovery rooted in dignity, compassion and community empowerment,” they said in a statement.
Child-centred Recovery
Noting that children process disasters in “deeply personal and emotional ways”, the leaders say they have made child-centred recovery a priority, particularly during Christmas, a season of deep cultural significance in Jamaica.
The consortium has been active in hurricane-relief efforts, concentrating on energy resilience and support for children. Dr Bailey, through the Bailey Archie Charitable Foundation, has delivered critical supplies, transportation support and large-scale relief distributions in some of the hardest-hit communities. She has shipped three containers of essential items, including medical supplies, equipment, food, hygiene products and materials for long-term recovery. In the coming months, she plans to source and send building materials to Jamaica.
Dr Nichols, through her Push-Start Foundation, responded to widespread electricity outages by supplying some 225 portable solar-panel batteries and generators to households, shelters and community centres across St Elizabeth, Westmoreland and St James. The devices have enabled families to power essential lighting, charge phones, refrigerate medication and maintain critical medical and safety equipment. The foundation’s work has helped stabilise community operations during prolonged outages.
Dr Dunkley’s outreach has focused on distributing clothing, children’s care packages, hygiene kits and food supplies. She has also coordinated with local leaders to identify vulnerable households and support cultural and educational continuity through books, school supplies and community-led events. In addition, she has provided generators for selected primary schools and Starlink connectivity for elderly households and schools to maintain access to online resources.
Pastor Hall and her faith communities have played a central role in the emotional recovery process, offering counselling, prayer and trauma-informed outreach.
According to the diaspora leaders, their collective efforts aim not only to bring comfort during the crisis but to chart a path toward sustainable recovery, community empowerment and renewed hope for Jamaica’s children and families.