Emergency response to Hurricane Melissa – a message from our partner Operators Without Borders

URGENT APPEAL: SUPPORT FOR JAMAICA WATER SECTOR

RECOVERY AFTER HURRICANE MELISSA

Dear Colleagues,

Hurricane Melissa brought unprecedented devastation to Jamaica and impacted other Caribbean countries as well. Communities are without power, critical infrastructure is severely damaged, and safe drinking water and sanitation services are disrupted across much of the island. It has been called the storm of the century with winds reaching 300 kilometers per hour. Operators Without Borders (OWB) is part of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Caribbean Group that is leading a coordinated response within the auspices of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). Potentially OWB may deploy volunteers as early as this week.

Our immediate mission is to assess the condition of Jamaica’s water and wastewater utilities and to coordinate teams of skilled volunteers to help restore essential services as quickly as possible. OWB is the only registered charity in the world with a sole mandate to assist water utilities in rebuilding after disasters and to provide free, on-the-ground capacity-building and technical support. Our teams have responded to hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods across the Caribbean and Latin America, working directly with local operators to get water flowing again and to strengthen system resilience for the future. Each volunteer deployment costs approximately $2,000 to $2,500 (USD), covering travel, insurance, and basic logistics. If the damage is as extensive as anticipated, we will need to mobilize multiple teams over the coming weeks.

We are asking for your support, through a direct, tax deductible, financial contribution or sponsorship of volunteer deployments. Every dollar makes a tangible difference in restoring safe water to families, hospitals, and schools. Our collective expertise as operators and water professionals has the power to restore stability and hope. Together, we can ensure that Jamaica’s water utilities, and the communities they serve, recover faster and stronger. These are our utility brothers and sisters many whom OWB trained in Incident Command System Disaster Management (please see photo below). Please help to whatever level you are able. Thank you for standing with us as we bring water back to those who need it most.