Local gov’t minister galvanises Cornwall citizens for cleanup campaign
Published:Saturday | December 6, 2025 | 12:12 AMMickalia Kington/Gleaner Writer
A call to unity and community action resonated through Pentecost Lane, Darliston, yesterday as Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development, officially launched the National Cleanup Programme.
The initiative seeks to restore affected communities following the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm ever recorded making landfall in Jamaica.
The programme will mobilise citizens, government agencies, and volunteers across 16 affected constituencies in the five hardest-hit parishes including Westmoreland, St Elizabeth, St James, Hanover, Trelawny, and Manchester, over the next four to six weeks.
McKenzie described the practical aspects of the effort, explaining, “We are not only dealing with the major thoroughfares in which the National Solid Waste Management Authority will continue to work on that programme. But this is a programme that goes deep within the communities where persons will have an opportunity to put out the couch that you never want to part company with, but you have to. All the things that were damaged and have no use. We’ll be cutting away trees… . We have the various equipment here this morning.”
He also announced that churches will be formally involved in the cleanup effort, with allocations made to support their work.
“Early next week I’ll be making some further announcements because… the Government has decided that we are going to involve the churches in what we are doing,” McKenzie said.
Reflecting on the disaster’s human impact, McKenzie praised the resilience and dedication of first responders and community volunteers.
He recounted visiting the infirmary in Savanna-la-mar on Wednesday, where staff who had lost their homes continued to care for patients.
“Several of them have lost their homes. They don’t have nowhere to go. They have to be staying at the infirmary in Sav-la-mar. Same thing for persons in St Elizabeth and Falmouth. While they were there taking care of the residents, their homes were destroyed,” he said.
Highlighting the role of volunteerism, McKenzie encouraged citizens to participate in the clean up too.
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
“While we are going to be employing some other persons, this is a general call for other Jamaicans to join and to volunteer. You can put out the stuff that you have. Not everybody can be paid, but everybody, if you are able, can work towards cleaning up the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents directly involved in the clean-up expressed mixed emotions about the work and its impact. Marlene Greniane, a resident of Darliston and one of the workers appointed to assist, described the devastation she witnessed and the emotional toll it took.
“When you see the place, it makes you more devastated… with all the zinc,” she said.
Greniane has participated in relief drives, particularly in the New Works community and recalls the devastating sight which leaves her with many sleepless nights.
She added that the work, whether voluntary or paid, is both challenging and meaningful.
“From the night we come back, I can’t sleep. Because me don’t know if it’s because I saw the condition that some of the people they’re in (and) where they sleep. It’s like it just left an impact on me… when it reach 1:30 [in the morning], me can’t sleep,” she said.
When asked how she felt about being part of the initiative, she responded, “Very much grateful. Because the first thing… we don’t have no Christmas. But at least, you know, a little something might come in [and] you can do something for your Christmas [or] for January. Probably you can help another person who’s less fortunate than you, too.”
Eastern Westmoreland Member of Parliament Dr Dayton Campbell praised the spirit of cooperation, including cross-party collaboration, in the cleanup effort.
“I have reached out to the former member of parliament to supply some of the names for the persons that we need to work on the programme. And the reason why I’ve done that is that, you know, in this process of dealing with the recovery, we have as a country become so divided and so polarised that at times we tend to forget that we are all humans and we have the same struggles and the same needs,” he said.
Both McKenzie and Campbell highlighted that the programme aims not only to restore physical spaces but also to uplift the communities psychologically.
The National Clean-up Programme represents a coordinated national effort, mobilising government agencies, volunteers, and citizens in a unified response to one of the most destructive hurricanes in Jamaica’s history.