MIAMI \u2014 Dadiere Licona said homes remain destroyed as efforts to rebuild continue nearly one year after Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica as a Category 5.<\/p>\n
Licona is the founder and president of Seeing the Unseen Outreach, a nonprofit organization that is fundraising to contribute to the effort. <\/p>\n
\u201cJamaica is the best place on Earth, the greatest place on Earth, but we\u2019re hurting. Western Jamaica is hurting,\u201d Licona said. <\/p>\n
Many families have been forced to live in shambles. Licona said Seeing the Unseen Outreach volunteers visited needy areas for two weeks in August to help as much as they could. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo what we do is we create care packages, food staples, rice, flour, sugar, corn meal. We provided canned food,\u201d Licona said. <\/p>\n
The volunteers helped deliver thousands of care packages and hundreds of backpacks filled with school supplies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re still parents that were in tears because I ran out of bags. I ran, I ran out of the school supplies. They still need water, they still need clothing,\u201d Licona said. <\/p>\n
Jonathan Licona, a board member of the nonprofit, said they distributed 24,000 packages. He is eager to help a homeless family of nine in the Saint Elizabeth Parish to get a roof over their heads by Christmas. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re still living under a tarp,\u201d Licona said. <\/p>\n
Dadiere Licona said she was impressed by Jamaicans\u2019 resilience. <\/p>\n
\u201cDespite of what they\u2019re going through, they still have smiles on their faces. They\u2019re still cracking jokes. They\u2019re, \u2018Oh God bless you. Thank you for coming back,\u2019\u201d Dadiere Licona said. <\/p>\n
The nonprofit organization is hosting a flower for a cause fundraiser on Saturdays at the Legion Farmers Market<\/a> in Miami and on Sundays at the Vizcaya Village Farmers Market<\/a> in Miami\u2019s Coconut Grove neighborhood. <\/p>\n