Five weeks ago, Hurricane Melissa trundled into the Caribbean region as the strongest hurricane the islands have seen in more than 50 years.

Both cell networks in Jamaica went down almost immediately, and I couldn’t reach my mother. We prayed and waited and waited and prayed. The silence felt like a velvet curtain muting all the birds in the world. It felt wrong.

In normal times, Mum’s a walking whirl of activity: always on-call for the elders and caregivers downstairs, rarely in just one conversation at a time, one eye on the world and the other eye on WhatsApp. Visit her home and she’ll invite you in, offer you juice or hot tea, give you the tour of her flowers, plants, and honey bees, then ask you about your life’s purpose and send you off with a blessing.

If we’re in a crowd and I need her attention, I call her “Mrs. McKenzie.” She may roll her eyes at me as she turns her head but teacherly reflexes don’t vanish after retirement and we both know it. Most of my friends call her “Aunt Lyn.” The staff at Ken Health Care, the family nursing home, call her “Nurse McKenzie.”

As soon as Hurricane Melissa arrived, Mum’s neighborhood lost grid power and phone services, and both stayed down for nearly five weeks.

But three things averted complete calamity for our family and the families of the 37 elders who live with Mum at Ken Health Care.

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First: we lost no one to the storm itself. This is the greatest blessing of all; I can’t tell you how much relief I felt when I listened to Mum’s note to us the day after Melissa left Jamaica (I’ve shared it below).

Second: the week right before the hurricane arrived, Mum installed solar panels on one of the buildings at the care home. That meant that, unlike last hurricane season, they had one building with a fridge and freezer where the staff could move food so it wouldn’t spoil while the mains power was out. They had one building where they could wash and dry 37 residents’ bedding and clothes. One building that, at least for a few hours a day, would have light to see and work by. Was it enough? No. Was it something? Yes.

Third: my oldest uncle, who runs maintenance and finances for Ken Health Care, had the agility and ability to get to Mum’s house in the days before and after Melissa. Ahead of time, he shored up the buildings and readied the generator. Then, after the hurricane, he came back again and again to check on his sister, to make sure the house still stood, and to set up the fixes he could.

Mum and Uncle are both in their early 80s now. If they lived in the UK or the US, they’d be eligible for elder care themselves. But they’re both blessed with good health, sound minds, and a relentless drive to support other people.

And they’re both exactly where they want to be after decades abroad. They thrive in the tropical sun and the pace of rural Jamaica. We’re not going to stop them from serving now.

We can’t control whether they or the region faces another hurricane like this one; Melissa was absolutely harrowing. But we can help them improve their and Ken Health Care’s resilience for the next storm. Climate change makes it all but certain there will be one.

Over the last five weeks, my sister and I have talked with Mum and Uncle about two concrete ways to build hurricane resilience at Ken Health Care. I wrote up the note below for friends and supporters who have been asking what they can do to help.

We have that information now, so please share it with people you know of means and heart, wherever you live.

Thank you, and until next time,

Keisha

November 2025

Dear Friends:

The day after Hurricane Melissa ripped through Jamaica, Nurse McKenzie walked her morning route on the Ken Health Care grounds, scanning left and right.

Cherries and peas: flattened. Papaya and banana trees: strewn like straw. Potatoes and greens: wind-reaped and flung around the yard. There were pools of water to mop and mounds of muddy debris to clean and clear away.

Cell towers were down and the power was out, so Nurse McKenzie couldn’t call residents’ families or her own without driving on the treacherous hurricane-ravaged road towards Mandeville. Cleanup would take weeks and repairs, months. Yet she rounded the yard, singing:

“Why worry, when we can pray?
Trust Jesus to show us the way!
Never be discouraged
Lean upon His promise
Why worry, worry, worry, when we can pray?”

“The Worst Storm of Our Lives”

A vicious Category 5, Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica over three days with 180mph winds and gusts of more than 205 mph. It brought the island its fiercest direct hit in nearly 50 years and left behind nearly US$9B in property damage islandwide. We mourn with each family grieving loved ones killed in the storm, made homeless by the wind, or still unable to access electricity, water, food, internet, or community care.

“This was the worst storm of my life,” our administrator, Mr. Nylann Kennedy said.

We thank God that every Ken Health Care resident and caregiver survived this storm. We also know there will be more storms and some of them will be just as strong as Melissa.

This is the time to plan forward.

A Comprehensive Care Plan

We must strengthen Ken Health Care’s power and comms systems so that Ken Health Care can be a safe, comfortable home for 37 residents and their 34 caregivers, even in a disaster.

Local mains electricity failed the first day of the storm, so we ran a back-up generator at Ken Health Care for 7 hours a day for more than two weeks. It cost over JA$10K of gas per day, and Mr. Kennedy topped up fuel supplies himself because gas delivery isn’t available in the area. We can’t rely on that generator to fuel the home’s three residential buildings in an emergency.

Even when mains power fails, Ken Health Care residents must have uninterrupted care:

• Light and refrigeration for food and medicines day and night.

• Hot running water for baths and laundry.

• Communications that keep residents and staff connected with loved ones.

The week before Melissa, we began powering one of the three residential blocks with solar energy. Nurse McKenzie added 8 more panels this month so that area of the home is now self-sufficient.

With your support, we’ll install more solar power and energy storage across the rest of the site, lighting every building, powering water heaters, laundry machines, and the kitchens, and keeping communications online.

The Ken Health Care board approved installation of satellite high-speed internet services (JA$150,000) this month. The system, being built and registered now, will supplement local cell services and replace fixed landlines that have been out of service for over two years.

• 30 solar panels, 2 inverters, 9 batteries—estimated JA$9,000,000 + installation labor

  estimated US$58,000 + installation labor

• Satellite comms equipment—JA$125,000 + JA$7,000 monthly fees

  US$783 + $44 monthly fees

But Ken Health Care has never been just about equipment. Since 2004, it’s been a warm, bustling home where staff provide holistic care for the body, mind, and spirit for every resident.

We’re now recovering from the biggest natural disaster our island has ever seen, and our staff members are repairing their own homes while we work together to serve residents’ needs.

We’ve assured staff that their employment is secure as we repair the plant, and we’re encouraging every team member to lean in with a spirit of gratitude, care for one another, and patience as the country rebuilds.

With your prayers, partnership, and gifts of any size, we’ll be able to make these essential improvements and continue to serve. Thank you for catching this vision, spreading the word, and for giving generously.

How to Give

We can receive financial gifts sent direct-to-bank to our Controller at Western Union or bank-to-bank to Ken Health Care’s accounts at Jamaica National or Scotiabank Jamaica. Please note the keyword “SOLAR” in the reference or memo line of your transaction.

1. Western Union
   Transaction: Direct to Bank

   Recipient: Nylann Kennedy

   Address: Lot 10, Red Bank Sub/Division, Philham Dr., P.O. Box 154, Hatfield, Manchester, Jamaica

   Phone: +1 (876) 382-3247

   Bank Name: Jamaica National (JNBANK)

   Acct Type: Savings

   Acct Number: 11036781

2. Jamaica National Bank (JNBANK)

   Branch: Mandeville

   Sort Code: JNBSJMKN

   Acct Type: Savings

   Acct Name: Ken Health Care Ltd.

   Acct Number: 2094341378

   Area code: 261

   Reference: SOLAR

3. Scotiabank Jamaica
   Branch: Mandeville

   Branch: 50195
   Acct Type: Savings

   Acct Name: Nylann Kennedy
   Acct Number: 000605825
   Reference: SOLAR

Contact

Nurse Lyn Kennedy-McKenzie
Nursing and Clinical Director
WhatsApp + Cell: +1 (876) 383-2570

Mr. Nylann Kennedy
Maintenance and Financial Controller
WhatsApp + Cell: +1 (876) 382-3247

—

About Ken Health Care

For 20 years, Ken Health Care has provided the best standards of holistic health and high-quality medical care based on the principles of respect, dignity, responsiveness and compassion, enabling our clients to live happy, fulfilled lives in their sunset years. Ken Health Care, a registered care home, is licensed by the Jamaican Ministry of Health & Wellness. It is owned and supported by the Kennedy family.

FYI for readers in the US

Jamaica’s government has named three drop-off points for donated items in the DMV region, Atlanta, and Florida.

Check out the official list of what’s still needed, or donate funds to the national effort through the government’s official Support Jamaica website.