Hurricane Melissa mash up mi entire place I just need a one room!
I am I am Tameka from Ricketts Avenue, a mom of four children, trying to steady my hands as I write this. Hurricane Melissa came through and left our street broken. Our entire house is gone and the ground still feels shaky.
When the water burst in I grabbed my babies and watched the little things that made a life float away the fridge humming then silent the stove and the TV tipping the clothes and the bed drifting the baby toys swirling and the papers that proved our names turning to pulp while my heart beat loud and my children cried and I kept saying we will make it we will make it though the night felt endless.
Right now I need to keep my kids dry and safe. I am asking for help to build one room right now so we can sleep without fear and start again. Mi deh yah trying fi hold it together, but mi tired and shaken.
Why your kindness today can keep my family safe
I am not asking for perfect. I am asking for enough to stand back up. The damage we carry is about twenty thousand dollars, but to get stable we need six thousand five hundred to start, to shelter my children and cook a simple meal.
Your gift will buy blocks and boards and a door that actually locks and it will bring rice and tinned food and water for my kids and it will help replace the washing machine and the simple things like a bed and sheets and it will help me file new documents so I can work again and breathe again without feeling that everything I had was swept out to sea and the little dresser and a fan to cool them at night.
Some friends can give a lot and some can give a little. Every little bit will move us. Mi beg yuh please help mi pickney dem. I promise to share updates and show the stones and boards your kindness put in place.
What we must rebuild first to breathe and restart life
I want to start with a small strong space for sleeping and storing what we have left. Then I need a door that shuts and a window that keeps out rain. After that comes a stove so I can cook for the children.
Later I will try to replace the fridge that kept milk cold and the TV that kept them calm and the bathroom things we used every morning and the bed with the headboard my mother saved for and the chest of drawers that held our church clothes and the work clothes I need to earn again and the little toys that made my baby laugh and the papers that say who we are and the small fan we all shared.
This is not about fancy things. It is about keeping four kids dry and fed while I piece our life back together. If you can help us rebuild, I will stretch every dollar and show the progress step by step.
First step is a dry corner where school bags can rest and shoes can be kept clean. Once that is built we can sleep better and think straight. I want my children to feel safe again when rain starts to fall.
How your gift turns shock into shelter and steady hope
Every share and every donation protects my family in a real way. It turns a bare spot into a room with a door and a roof. It turns fear into a plan. It tells my children that strangers care.
With your kindness we can reach six thousand five hundred and I can buy wood nails cement paint a small stove and a mattress and I can feed them while I clean the yard and I can start the paperwork that was ruined and I can breathe again knowing that tonight will be dry and that tomorrow will not feel like a wall we cannot climb. I will stretch funds and share photos so you can see the room rise from the mud and know your love is working here.
I will keep receipts and bring updates so you know where every dollar went. I want you to feel like a neighbor. Even a simple share helps, because it spreads hope faster than the fear that tries to return. From my street to your screen I am grateful for every prayer and every gift. Thank you for reading and caring. With your help I can turn this hard season into a start that my children will remember with pride.
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