TRAVERSE CITY — As relief efforts begin for Jamaican communities devastated by Hurricane Melissa, a Traverse City couple is planning how they can help those in need from across the world.
Amber Hasan and Tuklor Williams are no strangers to disaster relief. The pair played a major role during the Flint water crisis—helping secure an atmospheric water machine—and later provided support to Puerto Rican communities recovering from Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Now, as residents of Jamaica work to preserve and rebuild their homes, Hasan and Williams are connecting with grassroots organizations to determine how they can best assist.
They said communication with local contacts has been limited, but their goal is to identify the most essential resources for survival and organize efforts to provide them.
The couple is still deciding whether their help will be most effective on the ground in Jamaica or from Traverse City, where they have access to resources that can be collected and shipped.
As they learn more, Hasan and Williams plan to stay in close contact with disaster relief organizations to assess needs and determine how their assistance can have the greatest impact.
Often referred to as “accidental activists,” the couple said their motivation isn’t recognition; it’s compassion. What drives them, they said, is knowing that people’s homes and livelihoods are at stake and wanting to do whatever they can to help.
Hasan and Williams are also involved with A Water Trail, a docuseries highlighting efforts to bring clean water to communities in need following natural disasters.
For more information or to donate to their cause, visit here.