{"id":3774,"date":"2025-11-11T17:19:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=3774"},"modified":"2026-07-06T17:25:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T17:25:27","slug":"a-diaspora-united-by-duty-and-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2025\/11\/11\/a-diaspora-united-by-duty-and-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"A diaspora united by duty and hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a recent broadcast of Radio KFAI 90.3 FM\u2019s&nbsp;<em>The Conversation with Al McFarlane<\/em>, the Tennessee-Twin Cities airwaves became a lifeline linking Minnesota\u2019s Jamaican diaspora with the island in crisis. The trigger: Hurricane Melissa, a storm of record-breaking intensity that made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October 2025. According to the Associated Press, Melissa struck as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds reported at 185 mph, making it the strongest storm ever recorded to hit Jamaica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Veteran community organizer Earle Parris, a leader with the Jamaica Minnesota Organization (JMO), spoke with calm determination during the live broadcast. \u201cWhen I\u2019m lying in bed and I say my prayers,\u201d he told McFarlane, \u201cI say we\u2019re going to get through this. Jamaica has set such a standard in the world, and I see the whole world coming to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parris recalled that JMO was born out of earlier disaster efforts. \u201cThirty-seven years ago, it was Hurricane Gilbert,\u201d he said. \u201cThirty-seven years before that was Hurricane Charlie. Out of Gilbert, this organization was started, and we\u2019re still here.\u201d He positioned the current response as part of that legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, JMO is once again rallying to coordinate relief with the Caribbean Disaster Relief Fund (Minnesota) and other community partners. \u201cTomorrow night we\u2019re sorting and shipping barrels,\u201d Parris explained. \u201cWe\u2019ve reached out to friends and JMO members and the general population. People are calling in, sending emails, saying, \u2018yep, I\u2019m coming, and I\u2019ll bring a friend.\u2019\u201d His invitation was intentional: the crisis demands vehicles of support, not passers-by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He made a pointed observation: \u201cSome people say they don\u2019t have money, but they have hands. Their humanity is the most valuable thing in the world. Give me an hour. Give me a half-an-hour. That\u2019s what matters.\u201d He reinforced the practical: show up, labor, pack, ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joining the conversation was Wayland Richards of the Organization for Strategic Development in Jamaica (OSDJ). \u201cStrategic is the key word in our name,\u201d he said. \u201cWe respond now, but we\u2019re also thinking ten years ahead. What will the needs be when the headlines fade?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He described an organization with long-term vision: youth and community development, health-care infrastructure, social resilience. Now, with Melissa having destroyed or damaged hospitals, roads and utility structures, that strategic horizon matters. Richards cited, for example, the damage reported at Black River Hospital and the hundreds of thousands left without electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He announced OSDJ\u2019s upcoming gala on November 15 under the theme \u201cStrengthening the Bond Between Minnesota and Jamaica.\u201d Launching a campaign titled \u201cA Million Friends of Jamaica,\u201d they seek one million individuals over the next five years willing to donate a minimum of US $10 annually to fund rebuilding efforts. Two immediate flagship projects: the Davidson Outreach Centre and a new ward at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The voices offered something beyond hope: they offered structure, accountability, and a narrative of resurgence. Parris closed with a solemn determination: \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a haul, short term and long term, but we\u2019ll come through stronger.\u201d Richards reiterated the need for long-term commitment. \u201cSome homes cannot be rebuilt in a day,\u201d he said, \u201cand Jamaica will recover, but we must stay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McFarlane closed the hour with a message that invited action: \u201cPray for Jamaica. Pray for all those doing the work. And then act.\u201d The distinction is critical: prayer without action is insufficient in the face of this scale of destruction. Jamaica asked for response. Minnesota answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between Kingston\u2019s damaged homes and Minneapolis\u2019s volunteering arms, a bridge of compassion now crosses the Caribbean. The storm may have driven the gap. but this diaspora, anchored in culture, faith and purpose, is forging a path of repair, together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On a recent broadcast of Radio KFAI 90.3 FM\u2019s&nbsp;The Conversation with Al McFarlane, the Tennessee-Twin Cities airwaves became a lifeline linking Minnesota\u2019s Jamaican diaspora with the island in crisis. The trigger: Hurricane Melissa, a storm of record-breaking intensity that made landfall in Jamaica on 28 October 2025. According to the Associated Press, Melissa struck as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2504,2505,29,32],"class_list":["post-3774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-jamaica","tag-jamaica-minnesota-organization-jmo","tag-minnesota","tag-twin-cities","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Diaspora.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3774"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3776,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3774\/revisions\/3776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}