Seprod Foundation Donates Relief Supplies to Assist Households Affected by Recent Flooding in St. Thomas

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has received a donation of essential relief supplies from the Seprod Foundation to support families affected by recent flooding in Bath, St. Thomas.

The items include bottled water, hygiene kits, personal care items, cleaning products and other household supplies, which will be distributed to affected families through the Ministry.

Speaking at the handover on November 5, at Central Food on Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, Portfolio Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., expressed appreciation for the support, noting that partnerships are critical to the country’s disaster response and recovery efforts.

“Partnership with purpose is critical. You cannot do it alone. You don’t even want to go down this journey alone,” Mr. Charles Jr. said.

He noted that the Ministry intends to learn from the systems used by companies such as Seprod to improve its response mechanisms for future emergencies.

“We don’t have to reinvent any wheel. What we need to do is learn and just integrate the technology, the operations, the training and [the] preparation,” the Minister stated.

He said the aim is to use data more effectively to guide resource allocation and improve the deployment of volunteers during emergencies.

For her part, Director of Seprod Limited and its subsidiaries, Melanie Subratie, said the company had worked with several partners to provide assistance to affected communities following hurricane melissa in 2025.

She explained that teams went into communities to identify residents’ needs, including medical conditions, medication requirements and household circumstances, to better coordinate the distribution of assistance.

Ms. Subratie noted that collaboration among companies and organisations also enabled them to share resources and respond more effectively to requests for assistance.

She further disclosed that plans are under way to establish Jamaica’s first resilience hub, which will operate independently of water, electricity and internet services.