“A Blessing I Never Imagined”: A St Elizabeth Family Gets a New Home After Hurricane Melissa

• A two-bedroom house was handed over in Myersville, St Elizabeth
• Recipient Novia Russell’s family was affected by Hurricane Melissa
• VM Group partnered with Food For The Poor on the home
• Food For The Poor says it has built more than 35,000 homes in Jamaica

A family in Myersville, St Elizabeth, whose home was hit by Hurricane Melissa, received a new two-bedroom house in December 2025 through a partnership between VM Group and Food For The Poor, the Christian charity.

The Gleaner reported that the house went to Novia Russell, a single mother who cares for her three children, a young niece and her elderly mother. “This house is a blessing I never imagined. My children now have a safe place,” she said.

VM Group chairman Michael McMorris said: “This home symbolises our commitment to ensuring that no family is left behind during moments of national hardship.” President and CEO Courtney Campbell said: “VM was built on the principle of people helping people.” Kivette Silvera of Food For The Poor also took part in the handover.

The house is part of a larger recovery effort. A month earlier, Food For The Poor chief executive Ed Raine told the Jamaica Observer that the charity had built more than 35,000 homes in Jamaica over four decades and was planning for long-term rebuilding after the storm. “The first step is ensuring that we provide emergency shelter, but after that, we need to look at what long-term rebuilding will look like,” he said.

For St Elizabeth and other parishes battered by Melissa, one house is a small part of a very large need, but it shows how the rebuilding will likely happen: household by household, through faith-based builders working with companies and donors. For churches, it is a chance to help identify the families most at risk. For Jamaicans abroad who want to help, backing organisations that build storm-resilient homes on land families can prove they have the right to use is one of the most direct ways to turn remittances into lasting shelter.

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