Dundee Mayor Joins Forces with Christian Disaster Response to Aid Jamaica in Crisis

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LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — For Samuel Pennant, the mayor of the Town of Dundee in Polk County, the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica hits close to home.

“I haven’t been able to get in touch with anyone directly,” Pennant shared, expressing his concern.

Originally from Jamaica, Pennant still has family and close friends residing on the island, amplifying his worries amid the storm’s aftermath.

On Wednesday morning, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, intensifying the concerns for neighboring regions.

“I’m not from Kingston or Montego Bay. My roots are in the rural parts of Jamaica,” Pennant explained, underlining the vulnerability of these less urbanized areas to natural disasters.

“My anxiety situation will remain high until I’m able to get more information, hopefully better than expected,” Pennant said.

Pennant is asking his Tampa Bay neighbors to help and partner with reputable organizations to help his family and friends, along with the people he doesn’t know in Jamaica.

“We’re going to need food, clothing, volunteers,” Pennant said.

Relief groups like Christian Disaster Response are stepping up. Ron Patterson is leading the group’s effort to help.

“You see the news. The situation is terrible. It needs help and it’s going to need help for some time,” Patterson said.

Patterson is helping collect self-heating meals, supplies for cleaning and medical, along with volunteers to spend up to three weeks on the ground. First time volunteers will fund their own travel, but training, housing, and meals will be covered by the organization.

“This is not our first response to Jamaica. We were there in Hurricane Gilbert back in 88,” Patterson said. “We know the lay of the land, and we have people there we can work with.”

Pennant hopes the work that groups are doing will help fuel the island’s economic engines, tourism and farming.

“There’s lots of other plant life that is going to be dead for a while. Tourism is going to be curtailed so much for a while,” Pennant said.

For more information, click here. Mayor Pennant can also be reached by email at SPennant@TownofDundee.com.

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Dundee Mayor Joins Forces with Christian Disaster Response to Aid Jamaica in Crisis

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Dundee Mayor Joins Forces with Christian Disaster Response to Aid Jamaica in Crisis

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