Trade-Works Foundation's mission is to unlock the untapped potential of under-resourced youth globally. CURRENTLY pivoting to Rebuilding Jamaica After Hurricane Melissa, One Home, One Family, One Community at a Time
As we shift from emergency relief into the rebuilding phase, our greatest need is support for reconstructing safe, durable homes for families throughout Westmoreland and surrounding communities affected by Hurricane Melissa.
Many families are still living in unsafe structures, outdoors, or in partially collapsed homes. Power outages are expected to last for months, and the environmental conditions are creating urgent health and safety risks, especially for children.
To continue this work, we need funding, building materials, partnerships, and skilled support.
We need financial support to:
This is the fastest and most impactful way to help families regain safety and stability.
We are seeking partnerships with companies who can provide:
Discounts or donated materials will multiply how many homes we can rebuild.
Because some areas will be without power for months, we need:
Ongoing flooding has caused major health risks. Current needs include:
We are still collecting:
We are working with local and international builders to finalize affordable, hurricane-resilient home designs. Once complete, we will deploy teams to rebuild home by home, creating safe, expandable structures families can grow into.
We need:
Funds - Building materials - Corporate partnerships - Solar tech - Supplies for families
Every contribution directly rebuilds a home and restores hope.
This past week, our team returned from Jamaica after another intense round of post–Hurricane Melissa relief in the hardest-hit areas of Westmoreland. Every trip reveals more devastation than the last, especially as we reach deeper into communities that have been cut off for weeks. Homes remain underwater. Families are displaced. Entire communities are still without power, clean water, or the ability to communicate with loved ones.
And yet, everywhere we went, we saw resilience. People holding on, doing their best, trying not to lose hope.
Thanks to your support, here’s what we were able to deliver during Week 4 of our relief efforts:
Together, we provided urgently needed supplies to families who are still living in unsafe, damaged, or completely destroyed homes:
Our volunteers also helped rebuild damaged structures, patch roofs, clear debris, and clean the inside of several homes that had been flooded or contaminated.
The devastation remains overwhelming:
These conditions require sustained support. The need is still massive.
We are now shifting our focus from emergency relief to home rebuilding and long-term recovery, which includes:
This next phase is where long-term change happens—restoring not just shelter, but a sense of humanity and hope.
One person at a time.
One family at a time.
One home at a time.
Trade-Works Foundation is stepping up to support our community in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa. While we’re not a traditional disaster relief organization, our deep connections with local community and schools means we can directly reach the people who need help. Many of our students are currently homeless as their home was destroyed. as well as their shops and workplaces also destroyed. Together we can support!
Our team just returned from our second weekend distributing emergency aid across Jamaica, reaching hundreds of individuals with food, clean water, clothing, and flashlights. But the devastation runs deeper. Many families have lost their homes completely, and some are now using broken pieces of wood or zinc from what was their home to create makeshift shelter.
On top of that, many have lost their source of income, their farms destroyed, animals gone, shops collapsed, or vehicles so damaged they can’t get to work. With no home, no power, and no means to rebuild, this is the heartbreaking reality for so many.
Your donation will go directly to helping families recover by providing:
Every dollar helps a family take one step closer to safety, dignity, and stability.
We are on the ground, delivering supplies directly.
Your support goes straight to the people who need it most. Donate today to help families in Jamaica rebuild and recover.
During our second return to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa, our team continued reaching deeper into the devastated communities of Westmoreland—areas where families were still cut off, still without power, and still in urgent need of basic essentials.
Thanks to your support, we were able to show up quickly and deliver critical supplies to those who needed help most.
We distributed:
Through this trip alone, we served over 100 people, giving families immediate relief, protection from the elements, and tools to stabilize unsafe living conditions.
This phase was about reaching people who still had nothing, no power, no cell service, no clean water, and no access to basic supplies, and making sure they were not forgotten.
Families were still living in severely damaged homes or outside under makeshift coverings. Communication remained limited with no way to charge phones. Standing water created unsafe, unsanitary conditions. Children, elderly family members, and single mothers were carrying the heaviest weight of the aftermath.
This trip reminded us why these ongoing efforts matter so deeply: people are still struggling every day, and every pack, tarp, and tool makes a real difference.
In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica was in crisis. Airports were closed, major roads were blocked, and many communities were completely cut off. With no way to travel from the United States, our first priority was to mobilize support from within Jamaica to reach people as quickly as possible.
We activated a trusted team of volunteers in Kingston and partnered with local nonprofit 876 Volunteer to deliver emergency relief into one of the hardest-hit areas: Trelawny.
Despite impassable roads and extremely limited access, our Kingston team was able to reach as far into Trelawny as vehicles could go. They delivered 40–50 emergency relief packs, each filled with essentials such as:
These packs reached families who had just endured the storm and were still facing complete isolation.
In Trelawny, and across the region, the situation was dire:
This was our first introduction to the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, and it became immediately clear just how massive the need would be in the weeks ahead.
Week 1 was all about showing up fast, even when we couldn’t physically be there. By mobilizing local partners, we ensured that relief reached families during the most critical window , the first weekend after the hurricane.
Trade-Works Foundation's mission is to unlock the untapped potential of under-resourced youth globally.
Utilizing volunteer teams of trade industry experts, we promote self-sustainability and business building through workshops. Teaching skills development, and supplying attendees with the tools necessary to begin a career in their chosen trade.
We hold intensive workshops in the creative trade industries for disadvantaged youth in Jamaica. These youth have not been able to afford proper schooling nor the tools to begin a career, and with your support, we are meeting this need.
Trade-Works from Andrea on Vimeo.
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