Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has underscored the importance of collaboration with various stakeholders and partners as the country prepares to transition from immediate relief to the recovery phase.

He noted that while the need for emergency relief items will continue to exist for another two or three months, fewer persons will rely on those resources, as the focus shifts to housing, temporary shelter, and other recovery needs.

“So, in the second phase of the relief…we will have to have even a much closer collaboration so that we can leverage because we may need construction abilities and skilled labourers,” he pointed out.

“You [partners] may be able to mobilise material, and the Government could support [by] providing labour. Joint partnerships are what will get us to a very quick recovery,” he said.

Prime Minister Holness was speaking during a visit to the Chinese Benevolent Association (CBA) on November 13, where he witnessed the assembly of thousands of care packages for distribution to persons affected by Hurricane Melissa.

Holness said he was impressed with how swiftly the Chinese-Jamaican community had mobilised its volunteers and resources in the aftermath of the hurricane.

“As I look around this hall, it’s filled with all kinds of relief items, and I see that you have a very large volunteer core that is working on what is essentially a production line to get the packages out. It’s very impressive,” he noted.

He expressed gratitude to the CBA and all the other individuals, groups, entities and organisations that are supporting the relief effort, noting that their contributions “do help in significant ways.”

“With over 150,000 houses damaged, you can estimate from that the number of families dislocated and the number of individuals in need. Government’s resources alone would not be able to reach everyone,” he pointed out.

The prime minister said that community-led initiatives are a critical pillar of the national recovery effort, noting that the Government’s wide-ranging response is significantly strengthened when supported by organisations like the CBA.

CBA president Vincent Chang said the response from donors and volunteers has been overwhelming.

He informed that the packaging of items began last week and will continue “as long as we have stuff.”

“I think we’ve close to 4,500 to 5,000 packages delivered, and we have an estimate of 3,000 more and we’re still packing,” he said.

“We will go out there as long as we can muster the help, because it is not easy, but we are here. We’re part and parcel of this resilient country because that’s how I see Jamaica – resilience is its name,” Chang added.

He noted that the organisation’s efforts are grounded in its commitment to family.

“Family is everything within our community. The broader family [Jamaica] just needs help,” he said.

Chang explained that each package, which contains non-perishable food, water, personal hygiene and cleaning products, can last two to three days for an adult, noting that, where possible, larger families, including the elderly, receive multiple bags.

The organisation has delivered aid to five of the most severely impacted parishes and is expected to reach a sixth.