Fifteen Homes in a Week: Mission Groups and Baptists Build for Melissa Survivors in Montego Bay

• Faith-based groups including YWAM and the National Baptist Convention built 15 homes in a week
• The build in Montego Bay is part of a target of 200 homes for Hurricane Melissa victims
• Homes cost US$6,000 to US$8,000 each, according to earlier reporting
• YWAM Montego Bay, led by John and Daniel Hess, is coordinating the work

Volunteers from several faith-based and humanitarian groups spent a week building in Montego Bay, St James, and finished 15 homes for families left without shelter by Hurricane Melissa. The Jamaica Observer reported the milestone in April 2026 as part of a wider commitment to deliver 200 new homes.

The groups involved included Youth With A Mission (YWAM Jamaica and Costa Rica), Operation Blessing, WhyNot International, the National Baptist Convention, Mission Uprising and the BridgePoint Foundation, which works in Jamaica and in Dallas, Texas. The work is being coordinated through YWAM Montego Bay under John and Daniel Hess.

On the build day, crews worked from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Observer described volunteers as committed to restoring dignity and hope along with shelter, and said homeowners thanked them for the support.

Earlier in April, the Observer reported that the programme planned 200 two-bedroom homes in the Montego Bay area, and that 20 had already been completed at that point. Each unit cost between US$6,000 and US$8,000, putting the whole project at about US$1.2 million to US$1.6 million. The Jamaica Defence Force was among the supporting agencies. “This achievement reflects what is possible when organisations come together with a shared purpose,” BridgePoint founder Laura Butler said at the time.

The figures matter for anyone thinking about rebuilding in Jamaica. At US$6,000 to US$8,000, a two-bedroom unit built with volunteer labour costs a small fraction of a conventional house, and that is why church and mission networks can make a difference quickly. For diaspora congregations and returnees, it points to a practical way to help: fund or join organised builds with local coordinators. The harder task, making sure each family has secure rights to the land under its new home, still has to be solved one lot at a time.

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