Growth & Jobs | JN Foundation supports entrepreneurs rebuilding after Melissa

When Hurricane Melissa tore through sections of Jamaica last year, it left behind a trail of destruction - flattened homes, uprooted crops - and abruptly halted livelihoods. For many families, the storm was not only a disaster but also a life-altering setback.

Among the hardest hit were Richard Ruddock, a father of six from Llandilo, Westmoreland; and Dorothy Angus, a physically challenged ginger farmer from Duxes District in Point Hill, St Catherine. Their resilience and determination embody the spirit of recovery.

Recently, both received grants from the JN Foundation, through the ISupport Jamaica Fund. The beneficiaries, who were nominated by members of the JN Circle, will use the proceeds to help to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.

Hurricane Melissa was the turning point Ruddock’s life, wiping out his modest home and small restaurant business.

“Everything blew out in the night. We had a little restaurant and all of that is gone,” he said.

He and his son operated a small cookshop, selling steamed and roast fish, fried chicken, rice, and chicken and chips. The business provided an income stream he hoped to expand but, with his equipment destroyed and no capital to restart, those hopes were put on hold.

The JN Foundation grant has since helped to reopen that door.

“I can start the business again,” he said. “I feel happy. I can do something for my youth now.”

For Ruddock, the grant is more than financial assistance, it’s the beginning of stability after months of uncertainty.

Determined to Thrive

At 67 years old, Angus has the determination of someone half her age. She suffered spinal injury years ago and now walks by pulling one leg. She farms ginger, peppers, broccoli, and cabbage on a steep hillside property she manages almost entirely on her own.

The farm is her primary source of income and the means through which she cared for her elderly father. She sits in the soil to plant, weed, and tend her crops, refusing to let her disability dictate the limits of her life.

But Hurricane Melissa changed everything. The storm ripped through her hillside farm, snapping pimento and ackee trees, destroying her pepper crop, and burying her ginger under tonnes of debris. Her water catchment, a structure critical for storing water needed during the ginger’s early growth stage, collapsed. With no water system, no crops to sell, and no short-term income, she was left without any means of survival.

“There is no income coming in, nothing at all,” she said. “Normally, I would be selling ginger and pepper now. But Melissa stopped everything.”

The grant from the JN Foundation marks a turning point. Angus used the funds to rebuild her water catchment system and line her pond, a project essential for restarting her ginger farm.

“I am so grateful. When I heard [that the JN Foundation awarded the grant], I flew out of bed,” she shared, laughing gently.

For both recipients, the JN Foundation’s support represents more than money, it is validation, hope, and a path toward reclaiming independence.

Ruddock sees the chance to restart a cherished family business and provide consistent support for his children. Angus envisions her farm thriving again, with water security allowing her to grow ginger and vegetables year-round.

In acknowledging the significance of the grants, Claudine Allen, general manager of the JN Foundation, related that the recovery is strongest when communities are empowered.

“These grants give individuals like Mr Ruddock and Ms Angus the opportunity to rebuild not just their livelihoods, but their sense of independence and dignity. We are proud to support their journey back to stability,” she said.

She noted that the nomination from members of the JN Circle was critical to ensuring that the foundation was able to efficiently reach those most vulnerable and design the intervention in a manner which resulted in efficient use of the proceeds raised through the ISupport Jamaica Fund.

“We are grateful for the donations from Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica in the diaspora, and for the ability to partner with our members to create positive change at the community level,” she noted, adding that more than 20 other individuals, schools and families have benefited in similar manner.