{"id":5865,"date":"2025-11-12T15:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/richie-stephens-reggae-stars-bring-relief-to-jamaica-in-aftermath-of-hurricane-melissa\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T15:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:44:08","slug":"richie-stephens-reggae-stars-bring-relief-to-jamaica-in-aftermath-of-hurricane-melissa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/12\/richie-stephens-reggae-stars-bring-relief-to-jamaica-in-aftermath-of-hurricane-melissa\/","title":{"rendered":"Richie Stephens, reggae stars bring relief to Jamaica in aftermath of Hurricane Melissa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamaican music ambassador Richie Stephens is among dozens of reggae and dancehall stars, including Vybz Kartel, Shaggy, Popcaan, Spice, Romain Virgo, Buju Banton, and Mavado, who have contributed time and money to support relief efforts to benefit Jamaicans at home whose lives were disrupted by Hurricane Melissa, which ravaged western Jamaica on Oct. 28.<\/span><\/p>\n

At least 32 people reportedly lost their lives as a result of the hurricane, and the roofs of an estimated 120,000 structures were torn off, with up to 90 % of buildings in the parishes of Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth impacted. <\/span><\/p>\n

Jamaican-born, New York-based entertainment specialist Anthony “ER Guru” Turner told <\/span>Caribbean Life<\/span><\/strong> on Monday, Nov. 11, that Stephens, a long-time philanthropist, returned over the weekend to Russia in Westmoreland, where he grew up as a child, with a mission: “to bring comfort, supplies, and hope to residents devastated by Hurricane Melissa.” <\/span><\/p>\n

For Stephens, whose roots in the community run deep, the journey was personal. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Hurricane Melissa devastated the entire western Jamaica,” Stephens told <\/span>Caribbean Life<\/span><\/strong>. “As a Westmoreland man, I have to kind of just pay more attention to my parish. So, I immediately started raising funds donated by my friends in New York, Florida, Canada, and the UK, and I used some of my personal funds to purchase thousands of care packages.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens said he and a 15-member volunteer team, comprising family and close friends, including his wife, children, and friends such as selector Richie Poo, DJ Smurf from Irie FM, and others<\/span>,<\/span> trekked to bring relief to hurricane victims.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

“We loaded a truck with essential groceries and supplies and made the trek to the hard-hit community of Russia,” he said. “When people can’t get water for drinking and food for eating, you have to put everything aside and just cater to them. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Without food and drinks, you won’t live to get any other form of assistance in the future,” Stephens added. “So, I had to move fast.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens said he coordinated with local police in Savanna la Mar, Westmoreland, to maintain order at the distribution point. <\/span><\/p>\n

“We issued out all the packages calmly and peacefully,” he said. “Everything went smoothly, and I <\/span>am<\/span> proud of the people for that.” <\/span><\/p>\n

After distributing supplies, Stephens said he walked through the community to witness the devastation firsthand. <\/span><\/p>\n

“The destruction reminded me of watching TV and seeing certain wars going on in the Middle East,” he said. “It’s the same kind of image. It’s really disheartening. You have to stand up strong not to lose it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Stephens said one moment particularly stayed with him. <\/span><\/p>\n

“A lady came up to me and said, ‘Richie, I don’t live anywhere now. I don’t have a house again.’ <\/span><\/p>\n

“How do you fathom what she’s going through?” he asked. “This is a woman in her 60s. All her life, she’s been living comfortably, and woke up one morning and everything was gone.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the heartbreak, Stephens stressed the resilience of Jamaicans. <\/span><\/p>\n

“As bad as things are, the people don’t look as bad as the situation,” he said. “Everybody is still full of vibes; we’re naturally strong people.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Stephens said he is committed to continuing relief efforts. <\/span><\/p>\n

“None of us can do this on our own,” he said. “I’m fully committed to helping alleviate the stress the people are going through.” <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Singer

Singer Shaggy performs live on stage at Mann Center For Performing Arts on Sept. 09, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. <\/span>Photo by Lisa Lake\/Getty Images<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

He said that his commitment will be on full display when he joins Shaggy, Inner Circle, Kes the Band, TOK, and other reggae luminaries at the “I Love Jamaica” Hurricane Relief Charity Concert at the UBS Arena in Queens <\/span>on Dec. 12, 2025<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s another opportunity to do my best to help my Jamaican people under pressure,” Stephens said. “I have a lot of respect for Shaggy\u2014he’s always there to help. <\/span><\/p>\n

“The lineup is very strong, and I’m looking forward to being part of the show,” he added. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jamaican music ambassador Richie Stephens is among dozens of reggae and dancehall stars, including Vybz Kartel, Shaggy, Popcaan, Spice, Romain Virgo, Buju Banton, and Mavado, who have contributed time and money to support relief efforts to benefit Jamaicans at home whose lives were disrupted by Hurricane Melissa, which ravaged western Jamaica on Oct. 28. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islandflavaradio.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}