Supplies4Students delivers textbooks to 19 hurricane-affected students in western Jamaica

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — For 19 students in western Jamaica, returning to the classroom after Hurricane Melissa has become a little easier, thanks to a student-led initiative that raised almost $400,000 to purchase textbooks tailored to their individual school needs. Supplies4Students Jamaica, created and led by recent St Andrew High School for Girls graduate and Project Star intern Joanna Powers, matched donors directly with students in Savanna-la-Mar and Salt Spring who needed assistance securing books for the new academic year. The initiative was implemented in partnership with Project STAR, whose Social Services team identified the students through its case management programme and helped to deliver the sponsored books directly to them.

The 19 beneficiaries, drawn from primary and high schools, are among students in communities that continue to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa in 2025. For Samantha Fulwood, the donation came at a critical time for her daughter, who lost her schoolbooks during the hurricane. “My daughter lost all her books during Hurricane Melissa, which damaged them.

I was overwhelmed when I received the book donation. Her booklist for returning to school in September was over $40,000, and I couldn’t afford it, so I was so grateful that she was getting most of the textbooks,” she said. “The books will help her more in school.

When my daughter saw the donation, she was joyful and grateful for the gift,” Fulwood added. Joanna said the idea for Supplies4Students emerged while she was volunteering with Project Star to package food and hygiene supplies for families affected by the hurricane. “I wanted to find a way to directly help students in Jamaica whose education was disrupted by Hurricane Melissa.

I felt that helping them get the books they needed was something I could practically do even from outside Jamaica,” she said. While many organisations responded to the disaster with food, clothing and rebuilding assistance, Joanna decided to focus on a more specific need, the textbooks students require to continue their education. She was particularly concerned about students preparing for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), who were being asked to continue their studies while many families were still dealing with the loss…