Amelia And Family Rebuild In Black River

Amelia And Family Rebuild In Black River

26 Feb 2026

St Elizabeth, Jamaica – February 26, 2026: “The storm come. Take off the top, the front, the veranda, and the back door. The storm mash up everything. Had me outside,” recalled Amelia Neil of Black River, St Elizabeth.
 
When Hurricane Melissa tore through the community, Amelia’s small one-bedroom home - shared with six family members - was left uninhabitable. All four neighbouring houses were destroyed. With nowhere else to go, she and her family sought refuge at her cousin Marcia’s house.

For months, rebuilding felt out of reach.

That changed when N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish entered the chat.

Following a joint damage assessment conducted with Food for the Poor Jamaica, Amelia’s home was identified as one of the structures most severely affected along the hurricane’s destructive path. Through funding provided under N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish, a full rebuild was approved. Amelia’s home is one of two houses reconstructed through the initiative for families hardest hit by the storm.

“I am overwhelmed,” Amelia said, smiling as she stood at the doorway of her new home. “I just can’t wait to lay my head in here tonight.”

Unlike the structure it replaces, the new home has been reinforced to better withstand future storms. It includes hurricane straps and upgraded fastenings, with screws replacing traditional nails to strengthen resistance to hurricane-force winds.

Perrin Gayle, CEO of N.C.B. Foundation, said the intervention reflects the power of partnership and the Foundation’s contribution to national recovery.

“Through N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish, we partnered with Food for the Poor Jamaica to fund the rebuilding of two homes for families severely impacted by Hurricane Melissa,” Gayle said. “A safe home provides the foundation families need to regain stability and move forward. This is one way we are contributing to Jamaica’s ongoing recovery.”

Food for the Poor Jamaica also underscored the importance of local collaboration in post-disaster rebuilding.

“Many of our donors are internationally based. Having a Jamaican partner like N.C.B. Foundation provide this level of support makes a meaningful difference for families rebuilding their lives,” said Kivett Silvera, Acting Executive Director of Food for the Poor Jamaica.

For Amelia, the new house represents a fresh start.

“Trust God,” she said. “Believe and pray to Him and He will take full control.”

The rebuilding of two homes under N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish forms part of the Foundation’s wider national recovery response through the half-a-billion-dollar Building a Better Jamaica 2.0 fund. While that programme supports community infrastructure and long-term rebuilding across affected areas, N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish enables direct support to individual families facing extraordinary hardship.
  Photo Captions
Image 1
Amelia Neil receives the keys to her newly rebuilt home, funded by N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish, following destruction caused by Hurricane Melissa.


Image 2
Kadeen Finn-Miller, Programmes Administrator of N.C.B. Foundation, gets handy with a screwdriver in Black River, St Elizabeth as reconstruction efforts for Amelia Neil’s home gets underway.
 

Image 3
Tashna Samuels, Programmes Officer of N.C.B. Foundation, assists with final preparations ahead of the handover of a hurricane-resilient home rebuilt under N.C.B. Foundation’s Grant a Wish.