Breaking handout mentality one year after Hurricane Melissa

WHILE many victims of the devastating October 28, 2025 Hurricane Melissa are still looking for handouts to get their lives back together — especially in western Jamaica — a native of Westmoreland, Anna-Kay McIntosh- Richards, returned to her hometown on Saturday to equip residents with knowledge that can turn their situations around, if applied properly. Through her brainchild, Goals Have No Limit Foundation, she organised a team of volunteers to not only cook food and distribute it in Waterworks, Westmoreland — as well as distribute care packages — but, importantly, to impart knowledge about entrepreneurship and also how to make money from a social media-based business. She brought in a team of young people from Kingston comprising her husband, brother, and church sisters to share “these very important messages to the people, who are still downtrodden and have found it difficult to rise above the devastation and trauma they faced last year”. McIntosh-Richards also invited representatives from the State-run Forestry Department to spread messages about the importance of planting trees. There were other entities that were invited but which weren’t able to attend. However, that could not stop the mission, she insisted. “The idea for us is to move people mentally from the state of, ‘If nobody brings it to us then we don’t have anything.’ We believe people have almost everything they need but lack training and empowerment to bring it out. Even though we brought rice, sugar and flour for them, we can’t bring that every day because that is going to run out. We know that that need exists, but we wanted to go beyond that to see what we could help them with so that they can sustain themselves. “We wanted to give to them ideas of how to restart their lives without saying that the Government didn’t bring anything and they are suffering. We are trying to break that mentality of them saying that they are poor and are paupers. If people don’t carry tangible things to you, what are the intangible things that you have — the skills, talents, gifts and ideas — that can materialise into helping yourself and other people, building businesses and achieving an income?” McIntosh-Richards told the Jamaica Observer.

Ann Salmon
(Photo Jason Cross)

She explained that the foundation was born in 2017 while she attended university. At that time, she would travel back to Westmoreland with a handful of friends to donate many things to the people, especially the children. However, as time progressed and her volunteers started to focus on their own lives, the foundation’s work went on pause — until last year when Hurricane Melissa destroyed people’s homes and livelihoods, setting them back in a major way. On Saturday, the compound of the Waterworks Church of God of Prophecy was the base McIntosh-Richards used to execute the event which attracted well over 50 people from the community, including children and the elderly. There were appropriate activities for everyone from the different age groups. The children were engaged in a special session that allowed them to express themselves and were also taught lessons about resilience, based on the story of Job from the Bible. In her interview with the Observer, McIntosh-Richards alluded to a conversation she had with pastor of the Waterworks Church of God of Prophecy, Reverend Damion Robinson, who expressed to her that the mindset of some of the people is the biggest obstacle they face in life. She highlighted that many of the people received grants from the Government following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa one year ago, but failed to put the funds to good use and are still seeking handouts. “As pastor rightfully said, some people are in the mindset of ‘We are Melissa victims and people should be coming to help us.’ A year later, it should be more than saying, ‘People need to see us, and all we have to do is stretch our hands.’ You can’t just sit there forever saying you don’t see anyone come to give you anything. “Pastor said it that some of them got $200,000 grants and squandered it. How do you get those people to understand that they are living in a mindset that is going to be their defeat? No matter what people bring to you, your mindset and how you act and treat your reality is a part of a bigger issue. With that said, today was impactful for me,” she shared. “We planted a seed and we did well. It may not have manifested in front of us like it did for one woman who came and said she was inspired, but there was somebody there who heard something that they are taking back with them — and if we continue to remind them, they will eventually act upon it. We don’t have a million dollars to give away; the real impact is giving people the opportunity to fish for themselves. The idea is not just about feeding hungry people one day,” she said, emphasising that she had seen many foundations with large resources come and then disappear soon after, because whatever they sought to give to the people lacked the important element of sustainability. Ann Salmon was one of the attendees who received instant inspiration from the event and the lessons that were imparted regarding entrepreneurship, especially. It relit a flame within her and brought back powerful memories of when her husband was alive and they operated a baking business together. Just by being at the event at the church she started to explore ideas of how to jump back into business, but admitted she would need some help from the public to acquire a new stove with an oven, as well as some ingredients, to re-launch the bakery. “The presentation was excellent, and it motivated me a lot to start back. It just reminded me of when we started baking and how I was taught to bake. My husband used to bake and ride and sell on the street in Savanna-La-Mar. “He’d get orders from the people and he’d bake during Christmas time.  He would get orders, like four cakes to one person, and we’d bring it to them. I was with him, walking and selling on the street. He’d ride his bicycle and go to Russia and all over Westmoreland. People always liked our cake, and he always said to me that I was getting better than him,” she chuckled at the memory. She explained that whenever he became tired and could not manage too much of the workload, she would get up and do it on her own. “Eleven years ago he died and I stopped, because every time I am to bake, I’d remember him and then I’d break down. But now, I’m ready to do it again because cake really sells, you know. “I can make carrot cake and potato pudding — all of that, he taught me to make. Even oats cake. I just need a stove with an oven and some ingredients to start back. The devil made my phone drop in water, so people who would like to help can call my daughter to get through to me. Her numbers are 876-892-2691 and 876-839-2440,” McIntosh-Richards said with a glint of hope in her eyes.