Student raises funds for Jamaican hurricane victims

Tyrell-Jordan Blackwood from Dartford is fundraising to send essential goods to hurricane victims in Jamaica

A student is raising money to help relief efforts in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa devastated his grandmother's home nation.

Concerned for friends and family, Tyrell-Jordan Blackwood, from Dartford, began collecting essential aid items after the category 5 storm tore through the Caribbean in October.

The 26-year-old North Kent College student said he was hoping to raise £4,000 to pay for a shipping container to deliver the goods to charities in Jamaica.

Mr Blackwood said: "I started the campaign because I saw Jamaica needed to be rebuilt, needed relief and needed hope."

The media student, who is also a DJ and content producer, received donations from followers to his social media channels and used his mobile events van to collect them.

But as food, tools, sanitary products, tarpaulin and clothing kept coming in, Mr Blackwood decided he needed a way to get the items to Jamaica.

"I don't have that kind of money so I put an appeal out," he said.

The campaign has raised more than £1,300 so far towards the shipping container costs, which will be overseen by registered charities Chelsea Big Local and the Jamaican Red Cross.

Homes in Jamaica were destroyed and left without essential services when Hurricane Melissa struck

Melissa has become the most powerful storm on record to hit Jamaica, and one of the strongest seen in the Caribbean.

At its peak, it had sustained winds of 185mph (295 km/h). A category five hurricane - those capable of catastrophic damage - has winds in excess of 157mph.

The hurricane caused dozens of deaths across the Caribbean, with at least 28 in Jamaica alone.

Homes were destroyed, while roads became flooded or blocked by debris, isolating communities with little food, no power and no running water.

Mr Blackwood eventually made contact with his loved ones when communication was restored, but he was shocked at the scale of destruction.

He said: "Houses are flattened, there's no water, there's no roofs. Entire homes have caved in.

"In some homes in the countryside, there is no electric, people are left with no belongings.

"People that did have food have had it go off because there's no electric.

"My aunt has been told it will be like that for months."

The powerful storm devastated communities as it tore through the Caribbean

North Kent College, in Dartford, is planning to support the fundraising campaign by hosting a music event where Mr Blackwood will perform under his stage name DJ Stylah.

His tutor and head of media at the college, Grahame Gladin, said everyone was impressed by his motivation.

He said: "He's a real star. He brought such energy to this campaign and the college is fully behind him. It's so important that we get involved and start helping.

"The Jamaican people are left in devastation at the moment, so it's important we get on that journey, and TJ is the perfect man for the job."