Miramar, home to large Jamaican community, steps up to help island after Hurricane Melissa

Miramar steps up with donations for Hurricane Melissa recovery efforts

MIRAMAR, Fla. — The Jamaican national anthem echoed through the city hall lawn in Miramar on Thursday morning.

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City leaders were joined by Jamaica’s consul-general in Miami and Food for the Poor to hold a news conference discussing ongoing relief efforts in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastated the island.

Mayor Wayne Messam listed items in high demand, including tarps, generators, canned foods, unperishable foods, flashlights, batteries, tents, water, sleeping bags, work gloves, industrial sponges and first aid kits.

Residents dropped off items at Miramar police headquarters and multiple fire stations around town and were assured the items will make it to the hurricane-ravaged island.

Commissioner Maxwell Chambers, a Jamaican immigrant himself, described the pain of the city’s sizable Jamaican-American population who have loved ones on the island.

“There (are) a lot of people who still have not heard from their loved ones,” Chambers said.

Other entities across South Florida are also collecting donations.

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Saira Anwer

Saira Anwer

Saira Anwer joined the Local 10 News team in July 2018. Saira is two-time Emmy-nominated reporter and comes to South Florida from Madison, Wisconsin, where she was working as a reporter and anchor.