KINGSTON, Jamaica, November 7, 2005 — As Jamaicans struggled to adapt to life under flood water, caused by Tropical Storm Wilma, the Bible Society of the West Indies (BSWI) nevertheless managed to respond promptly to a request by the Salvation Army for Bible Portions to put into humanitarian aid parcels.
Five days of heavy rain from October 14 - 18, left major roads blocked, brought landslides and caused the evacuation of hundreds of residents into emergency shelters in schools and community centres.
Rivers overflowed their banks, sweeping away livestock, crops and household furniture. Roads were washed away, cutting off communities, and the army used helicopters to airlift residents to safety from the roofs of their homes. Hundreds of householders were left without drinking water and as electricity poles came down, uprooted from the waterlogged earth, the power supply, too, was cut off. Two small boys who ventured into a newly created pond got into difficulties and drowned.
Instead of reopening after their half term on October 17, the schools all remained closed for an extra week. Ironically, this was partly to allow people sheltering there to find alternative accommodation.
Bible House, in Kingston, did not escape trouble either. Water leaking into the computer room was a particular concern, according to the Rev Courtney Stewart, General Secretary. Staff installed two large dustbins to cope with it and then had to siphon the water out as they were too heavy to move.
Moving around the locality on local roads was so difficult that between October 18 and 20 only four members of Bible Society staff managed to get to work.
Beyond the capital itself, however, things were a bit easier.
"We have been able to move around on the eroded roads and attend important Bible Society meetings outside Kingston in our faithful old four-wheel drive," said Mr. Stewart. "Though it has gotten on in years - it's now eight years old - we are grateful to have use of it still, especially at a time as like this."
Meanwhile, relief agencies have been extremely busy responding to the needs of those most badly affected. The Salvation Army has prepared and distributed food and blankets to those who have had to move into emergency shelters.
The Bible Society was a partner in the project, providing a total of 700 copies of two Portions, God Is Our Shelter and Strength and Hold On - God Is On the Way, which were given out as part of each relief package.
The Society delivered the booklets within an hour of receiving the request and the Army's Field Secretary thanked the Bible Society for its generosity and the speed of its response.
"To say that Jamaica has been devastated by the effects of Wilma would be an understatement," said Mr. Stewart. "The government, already strapped for cash, is now in an even worse predicament. Revenues from exports will be significantly reduced and the cost of locally produced food has begun to rise as farmers are asking for more money for their scarce commodities.
"Remember us in your prayers," he urged the Fellowship. "We are not out of the waters yet and from all indications, we have a terribly long way to go."
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