Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Food isn't just delicious... it can also change your life! Tune into Beyond the Plate, a new podcast presented by International Charity: Food For The Poor. Get inspired with conversations that nourish the soul. Hear amazing stories of transformation from faith influencers, leaders in the nonprofit sector, and the individuals receiving aid in the 15 countries of Latin America that Food For The Poor serves.
Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Ep. 23 - Preparing When the Storm Comes Home
In July 2024 Hurricane Beryl slammed into the Caribbean, leaving a trail of devastation, still felt today. In Grenada, 95% of homes in two regions were destroyed. St. Vincent and the Grenadines saw 90% of its infrastructure damaged. For Food for the Poor Jamaica, this wasn't just another disaster response—it became deeply personal, when it hit home.
Kivette Silvera, former Executive Director of Food for the Poor Jamaica, reveals the extraordinary behind-the-scenes reality of disaster response work. "Once a hurricane or any disaster is on its way, it doesn't matter who you are," Silvera explains. "You are now in disaster response mode, so it means no titles."
Preparation begins long before storms appear. Teams establish protocols, secure resources, and ensure staff members are ready to respond at different intervals— weeks before impact. Yet the most remarkable stories emerge from the personal sacrifices made by those responding. Learn about one team member who lost his own roof and went without electricity for weeks but continued coming to work daily, helping others.
These stories illuminate Silvera's powerful perspective:
“This isn't mere employment—it's answering a calling to serve others in their darkest moments, bringing hope when all seems lost.”
Through partnerships with other organizations and community groups, Food for the Poor amplifies their impact across Jamaica. "Together we are stronger. Together we make a difference."
We invite you to join this mission today? Click here: www.foodforthepoor.org/emergencyrelief
Beyond The Plate is a podcast by international charity, Food For The Poor
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Once a hurricane or any disaster is on its way, it doesn't matter who you are. You are now in disaster response mode, so it means no title. You're about serving. You're about helping those that have been affected. You're about responding. It doesn't matter what it is, where it is. We're in the hills, we're down in the valleys, we're even out at the sea. So, at the end of the day, you are where we are now, a servant of the poor, the 2024 hurricane season started early, and it started violently.
Speaker 2:Within just six weeks, Barrow ripped through the Caribbean, leaving nothing but rubble and heartbreak. But beyond the headlines are the heroes. This storm didn't just affect food for the poor. It came home to us, to our families, and when disaster comes that close, we're reminded this isn't their crisis, it's ours too, Because when one family suffers, we all feel it and together we rise.
Speaker 3:This is Food for the Poor, but we're not just food. We go beyond the plate to discuss a full range of development programs, all designed to break the cycle of poverty by empowering people with the tools and training they need to transform their lives for generations to come.
Speaker 2:These stories will inspire you and, best of all, you can be part of the change that takes place.
Speaker 3:Join us as we go beyond the plate. Join us as we go Beyond the.
Speaker 2:Plate. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th. So what I'm about to tell you may or may not shock you. By week six of the 2024 season, the second named storm barreled through the Caribbean like a freight train of chaos and destruction. Oh, you know who also felt it was our folks in St Vincent and the Grenadines right. 90% of that infrastructure was damaged Roads, homes, even the airport terminal All crucial. And in Grenada, a Category 4 hurricane ripped through two major regions, destroying 95% of homes in its path. And in Jamaica, we're honored to welcome our friend and former executive director of food for the poor Jamaica, kevette Silvera. Welcome to Beyond the Plate, kevette.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you, so great to be here.
Speaker 3:Great to have you. You know, kevette, when disaster strikes, how do you prepare for a storm like Beryl in Jamaica as the executive director, as your own family? I mean, let's just be honest. Right, yes, you're heading up this organization, you're heading up this team, but how do you prepare leading up to Barrel?
Speaker 1:Okay, so the first thing we want to do is the staff members, the team members of Food for the Poor. We ensure get yourself in order in terms of food supplies, water, gasoline, anything that you may need, because, believe it or not, leading up to the hurricane, there are some team members who would be required to be on site during the hurricane.
Speaker 1:So, outside of preparing your homes, putting together the supplies, ensuring that your family is safe. There are some team members that have to be on the ground because there are instances where, in the midst of the storm, activities are taking place and we have to respond.
Speaker 3:How far in advance is this? I mean, you know the storm and that's the luxury. You know when we see other parts of the country where earthquakes happen. In an instant tornadoes strike without notice, but a storm like a hurricane. You see it afar off, whether it's a day, two days, but you have time to prepare. What's the time frame like in this preparation before Beryl?
Speaker 1:Okay, you have to prepare even before the hurricane season starts. So you just mentioned, daniel, the hurricane season starts June. The preparation begins even before that. So you identify what are the activities that need to take place. However, once you hear hurricane barrel is coming, it's a different level of activity. So it's like, okay, you're preparing before, because that is critical, pre-preparation is very important. But then when the activity is there, it's imminent, it's right at the door. Knocking barrel is on the seashore, it is coming. Now you're putting all your pre-prep activities into action, right? So, a few hours before Burrell, what are the things that need to be shut down? What are the trucks that need to be locked? What are the equipments that need to be secured? What are the items that need to be ready to move, what are the plans, who are the personnel? All of those activities a few days before. So you have different points Before hurricane season, once there is an imminent danger, two weeks before, two days before, 24 hours before and at the time of the hurricane.
Speaker 3:So, okay, I remember it's July of 2024. A news outlet reached out to us here at Food for the Poor, and I connected them with you and I remember the one thing that I was was striking for me was the fact that you were on the road driving, talking to this nationally syndicated news reporter, talk show host, and the phone keeps cutting in and out.
Speaker 3:But we understand, right, it's what we've got. Yeah, because we really need to get a on the ground. You know what's happening now and the storm had already passed. But what was interesting to me was not necessarily that interview, but was what you told us recently. You said and I'll quote you on this, because you talked about how titles disappear yes, and what happens when you are a servant and you've got to be ready to act. So what's the process of that for the staff to kind of take away that mindset? I mean, we're all wearing these disaster response vests. For those who are watching us on YouTube, they're not snazzy vests, they're monikers that show we're ready to work. Yes, what was that like for you?
Speaker 1:Okay. The situation is this Once a hurricane or any disaster is on its way, it doesn't matter who you are the executive director, the driver, the finance manager, the front desk clerk it doesn't matter who you are the executive director, the driver, the finance manager, the front desk clerk it doesn't matter. You are now in disaster response mode, so it means no title. You're about serving. You're about helping those that have been affected. You're about responding. It doesn't matter what it is where it is. We have 14 parishes across Jamaica and it does not matter. We are in the hills, we're down in the valleys, we're even out at the sea reaching the fisher folks. So, at the end of the day, whatever position you have officially within the organization during that period, you are where we are now a servant of the poor.
Speaker 2:That's amazing, and I love that. There's no, no, there's no, no questions, right? There's no, maybe I'll come back, let me, let me, let me figure this out. I mean, some folks might. I mean I understand that we have to protect our own and then come back, and but fortunately, that's, that's not a question here and that's that's already. We wear the vest. With or without the vest, we're already here to help, and that's amazing. What we do here at Food for the Poor, we do it for our families and, as well, for the ones that are affected most.
Speaker 3:Your quote was once you sign on with Food for the Poor, you're not signing up for a job, you're signing. You're saying yes to a mission.
Speaker 2:Let's say it again Once you sign on with Food for the Poor, you're not signing up for a job You're signing on to a mission. You're saying yes to a mission. Unpack that for us, because that means a lot, especially after a hurricane like Beryl.
Speaker 1:I don't believe a person's fully appreciated until you are in within the organization, because you have now joined a family that believes in service above self Right. You're not signing up with Food for the Poor to say, oh, I'm going to another organization to do a job, I'm going to be the accountant, or I'm going to be the clerk or the driver or the director of construction services. No, you're signing on to say how can I use my skills to continue fulfilling this mission? How can I impact the lives of persons that are in need? How can I make a difference? So it's always something that I say Once you sign that letter of engagement with Food for the Poor. You're not signing a job letter, you're signing a mission. You're signing to join the mission of God, because that is why we're here. We're here to serve and to do God's work, and that is what I meant when I said you're not signing up for a job. You're signing on to the mission. The mission is to fulfilling.
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Speaker 3:Cheers to that BearBrewscom, that's B-A-R-E Brewscom. You're joining us on Beyond the Plate, where we have the pleasure of being joined by Kevet Silvera, a partner and a friend and a part of this Food for the Poor team and the former executive director of our Food for the Poor Jamaica office. And you said something about your signing on to the mission. Well, those of you that are listening, those of you who are watching us right now, you can also sign on to the mission and help in this effort. Right now, you can also sign on to the mission and help in this effort.
Speaker 3:As Kevett said, the work of responding to emergencies like a hurricane, like disasters man-made or natural disasters starts weeks, months, long time before disaster hits. And you could help right now by going to foodforthepoororg slash emergency relief. You can go right there and help and make your difference felt. You know it's interesting when we talk about the way people can help give it. What are some of the things? Before I give it to Danny, I just want to give our audience an idea of what are some of the things when they do go to foodforthepoororg slash emergency relief. What does that turn into? Their donations, their gifts, their generosity, what does it turn into? What were you distributing and helping with others?
Speaker 1:Can I say, not just the physical, but it actually turns into hope. Hope for the families. Because you may look at it and say, oh, I'm giving a bottle of water or I'm giving funds to buy blankets or clothing or roofing material, but you're actually giving that family hope and also you're giving them something to look forward to, to say somebody cares for me. So you may consider that you're giving the funds or you're donating physical items, but it's beyond that. It's way beyond what you're giving. It's about giving the lives and impacting those families. That says do not give up. Amidst what you've been through, amidst what it is that you have experienced or are experiencing, don't give up. There is hope, Somebody cares, somebody loves you, and it is that you have experienced or are experiencing. Don't give up. There is hope, somebody cares, somebody loves you, and that is what you're giving.
Speaker 2:Now, kaveh, you've been doing this for a long time. We've been doing this for a long time and you've seen things that, during these storms, that sometimes you can't shake off Right and with all your experience, what's that moment that still? It still sticks with you after and before and during these storms many moments um, where hope doesn't reach, where hope is not enough. Oh, you know what's from that perspective?
Speaker 1:okay. When you go into the field and you see the families, you see a mother with the children and she's not sure how her roof is going to be fixed. How is she going to feed the baby? She's lost everything. The roof is gone, the clothing is wet, the furniture is damaged and she sits there because she may not have a job, she may not have anybody to turn to to say help me.
Speaker 1:It impacts you significantly because there are many persons out there, but the resources are limited and you have to make a decision. You want to help entirely and give a fulsome picture of what can be restoration in its entirety. However, you have to make a decision. If you have a thousand families to serve and the resources are limited, you have to determine do I help one family and fully restore them in terms of housing, roof, clothing, everything, food, or do I stretch whatever limited resources I have and say okay, your roof, I can patch it a bit, because I have to also patch the other neighbor next door?
Speaker 1:And that is the biggest challenge I would say we face, because there is not enough to really help everybody to the extent that they need the help. It also reaches to the team members. Why? Because you have team members who go out there and they also are emotionally impacted by the inability to really help the families in their entirety. It is a story that keeps coming over and over again. As team members, we go out there and we know you have a basket. How can you feed many persons with this basket, as opposed to just a few family?
Speaker 2:And that's something kind of we forget. Sometimes it's not just data. These are mothers, children, families. I mean, we're all affected. We're both sides. On both sides we're helping.
Speaker 1:We're all affected, we're both sides, we're helping, we're hurting and we're both making sacrifices and let's be honest here, you're a mother yourself yes, I was about to say that, being a mother myself, when I go out there and I see these mothers with children, I put myself in the position and say how I feel it impacts me significantly because you have your child and you're not able to give your child what they need. You're not able to comfort the child, you're not able to let them feel like everything is being okay. Now I have a son and I put myself in the shoe of that mother, sitting on the step and thinking where is the baby feeding coming from? Where is the baby food coming from? Where am I going to get dry clothing to put on this baby's back?
Speaker 1:As a mother, they say, who feels it knows and being in the field, it really rocks you, it really hits home because I think paulie said it earlier you may be in a position where you are able to make plans and make preparations, line up at the gas station. These families are not able to do any lining up anywhere. They have to just sit and hope that somebody will help. And that's how difficult it is for us, as Food for the Poor team members, to go out there and be able to serve and to provide some form of comfort, and the first thing we always do as well is pray. Why? Because, guess what? We know the Lord will provide, and once we have faith in him, he will provide all our needs.
Speaker 3:So there's a famous saying that came out during COVID Not all heroes wear capes. We see that for first responders. We see that for first responders. We see that for nurses, medical professionals different ones who make the sacrifice in the midst of going through. In your case, dial the clocks back again July 2024, you've got this team of people that weeks in advance, have been preparing and then, days in advance, in the approach of Hurricane Beryl, have been getting ready, and then the inevitable happens the storm hits, and you told us about one individual who lost their own I think it was him. Young man lost his roof, had no electricity for six weeks but yet came to work every day for the betterment of his brothers and sisters in Jamaica and working with Food for the Poor. I mean, what was that like? What was it like for you as a leader, and for that individual, day to day, to see him knowing that he was going through that a leader?
Speaker 1:and for that individual day to day, to see him knowing that he was going through that. It's rough, because how do you ask someone to give their all, amidst what it is that they're going through? You're asking them to continue to be in there for other persons and they themselves are in need. The commitment it's at a different level and that is why I said it's not a job, it's a mission, because that would have been a sacrifice for that father, a team member, who had his own family to take care of but had to be out there and think about it. You're not having electricity for weeks, own family to take care of, but had to be out there and think about it. You're not having electricity for weeks.
Speaker 3:Stick a pin for one second and it's July in Jamaica.
Speaker 1:And it's hot and the mosquitoes are out, because everybody's out I just want to make sure for our audience who have never been to Jamaica, have never been in a tropical climate in the summer, it's hot.
Speaker 1:Whatever hot you're thinking about, add a little bit more heat to it and remember it gets even hotter after the passage of a storm, so it's extremely hot, the mosquitoes are there and this team member and a few others as well. I'll tell you, paul, there were team members who were on the site of Food for the Poor's head office the night of the passage of Hurricane Beryl. They were physically, they left their family to physically stay at the Food for the Poor office in Jamaica because of the preparation to serve the persons immediately and they were called upon to provide assistance because a hospital had lost a piece of its roof and in the middle of the night they had to be sending items to support persons who were in this hospital. And these family members have also been away from their families and would have been affected significantly.
Speaker 1:But if you think about the team member who would for weeks I mean every single day I look back and I say how did he do it? Like I can't tell you. Tell you, um, as a, as a team leader at the time, I myself had to be strong because I couldn't help him, but he was helping others. I had to just have the conversation to say you know, I hope that things work out and any support that we can give we would. You and we were able to give at some point in time. But again, amidst all of that, you are serving while your family is in need. Now that's sacrifice.
Speaker 3:That's right. So you talked about the support and you mentioned the hospital, but Danny was alluding to it earlier the partnerships. You know. Remember while you were, while this was all going on, everything we've just been talking about was going on here stateside there was the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation, and I remember sitting in that seat where you are right now. Sadella Marley, Bob's daughter, came here to Food for the Poor, to advocate the support of Food for the Poor and our work to help our brothers and sisters. What was it like on the receiving end, with your partners in Jamaica, in the aftermath, trying to help all of these families, whether you could in these communities or you couldn't, whatever you could do, what was it like with the partners that you had by your side, this entire ordeal?
Speaker 1:Okay, so partners twofold. You have partners who provided you with on-the-ground information, because, I mean, we're not a thousand team members strong, we were just about a hundred team members strong, so, and there are 14 parishes that would have been impacted. So partnership is critical, but also partnership in terms of support on the ground, in terms of items that were donated, the help to pack, the help to deliver. We can't do this alone. No man is an island, even though Jamaica is an island.
Speaker 3:That's a song.
Speaker 1:No man stands alone right.
Speaker 3:You can't do this alone.
Speaker 1:It has to be a partnership, because together we are stronger. Together we make a difference. Together we're able to reach even more and be even more impactful. So I would say to all the partners out there that, joined with Food for the Poor, you have made a difference and continue to make a difference, because working together you're able to achieve so many, many, many, many, many more greater things than if you try to do it alone.
Speaker 3:Wow, to not just us here at Beyond the Plate, but talking to all of you, our audience, to know that when you look at the weather report, when you look at the local news, national news, world news, and you see blue skies, that is the time for you to act A partner, a person, a passionate parent. See what I did there, pee. I've been practicing you got another pee.
Speaker 3:You can help right now by going to foodforthepoororg slash emergency relief. That's foodforthepoororg slash emergency relief to give your best to help during blue skies, because it's not a matter of if disaster strikes, but it's when. Kylvette, thank you for being a part of Beyond the Plate.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Let's go, all right.
Speaker 3:All right. Thanks for listening. We hope you felt the connection.
Speaker 2:One plate, one story one act of love Can change everything. Discover more stories and join our community at foodfortheportorg slash podcast and follow us too at beyondtheplatepodcast. Together we can make a difference. This is Beyond the Plate.
