More than 50 per cent of the houses in Catherine Hall and Westgreen, St James, have been rewired for electricity connection that was badly damaged by flood waters associated with last October’s passage of Hurricane Melissa.

“Happy to say that visiting Catherine Hall, 600 out of 800 houses have been rewired and the other 200, we are working with those households who have specific issues why they are not able to sign up as yet for the connection,” Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz said following a tour of the affected communities on Thursday.

The passage of Hurricane Melissa has resulted in significant displacement and damage to households islandwide. Consequently, thousands of households that required house wiring to become regularized were affected. Additionally, thousands of households that have electricity now require rewiring and the Government Electrical Regulator (GER) certification process to be safely connected to the grid. Through the provision of JM$1 billion for the implementation of the National Energy Poverty Reduction Project, the Government of Jamaica, through the Ministry of Energy Transport & Telecommunications will be supporting households in the most affected parishes.

Jamaica is an iconic beach destination – but there’s so much more to the island than flop-and-drop tourism. With a vision of spreading tourism outside of key hotspots and ensuring that Jamaicans felt connected to their tourism industry, four key partners came together to develop a strategy that would strengthen community-based tourism across Jamaica and empower small tourism businesses. Larisa McBean, Tourism Specialist at the Jamaica Social Investment Fund, took us behind-the-scenes of this award-winning campaign – including how they structured the partnership to ensure success, what they learned throughout the process, and how it’s providing a foundation for recovery after Hurricane Melissa.

Hurricane Melissa reminded us that vulnerability is multi-dimensional.  It was a pleasure to join Mrs. Kandasi Levermore, Executive Director, Jamaica Aids Support for Life (JASL) and her team, together with the Norwood Benevolent Society, as they distributed over 300 care packages and supplies as well as delivered essential medical services to the residents of Norwood, St. James. The event was held on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at the Norwood Sports Complex recently constructed by the JSIF under the Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP 11), funded by the Government of Jamaica.  

The JSIF’s footprint in Norwood extends beyond this recently constructed sports complex and includes the rehabilitation of roads, water and drainage infrastructure, community parks and green spaces and the delivery of varied social services aimed at improving the quality of life of residents.

The Yaad Luv campaign was executed by the United States-based marketing consultancy firm Trove Tourism Development Advisors. The campaign showcased Jamaica’s rich and diverse community-based tourism offerings through vibrant social media storytelling, radio, newspaper and bus wrap advertising, training in social media and digital marketing strategies, website creation and maintenance, search engine optimization, as well as the creation of a new website, www.yaadluv.com.