Rebuked

Jamaica Gleaner | 2025-12-04 | Original Article

The Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (JAMU) has moved to dismiss claims being circulated on social media that it has received funding from the Government or acted on its behalf to collect personal information from individuals during its hurricane relief efforts.

 

During a press conference hosted by JAMU yesterday to address the online claims, the hierarchy of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in Jamaica said it was seeking to set the record straight.

 

Church officials described the claims as false and misleading, stressing that all assistance being provided to affected communities is financed solely through donations from overseas partners, local congregations, and individual members who have been contributing out of their own pockets.

 

Pastor Everett Brown, president of JAMU, said the Church has over the years maintained a record of utilising its resources to respond to the needs of people in the community.

 

“We have not received any financial support or any support from any government at this point in time, we have not. The resources that we have deployed, the cash that we have given, we receive those funds from international partners, from the SDA Church abroad and SDA churches locally,” Brown said during the press conference, held at The Good Samaritan Inn, located in Kingston.

 

According to JAMU, approximately US$145,000 was received from international donors, including the International SDA Church and the US government.

 

Brown said that before the passage of the hurricane, and anticipating that it would be a catastrophe, JAMU set aside in excess of J$500,000 to prepare for the prospect of not being able to access food and water in the immediate aftermath.

 

This allowed the organisation to prepare care packages, mobilise volunteers, and position relief supplies.

 

JAMU said local church members have also augmented those efforts with additional personal contributions to meet the growing needs on the ground.

 

The local SDA is made up of five conferences - Central Jamaica, East Jamaica, North East Jamaica, North Jamaica and West Jamaica.

 

“When I speak of giving half a million dollars, the five conferences also voted additional cash to purchase food and water to distribute. I can tell you [this] because we received the report a few days ago. The West Jamaica Conference, in addition to what the union has done, purchased over $35 million worth of food and supplies and distributed it also,” Brown said.

 

The Church’s humanitarian arm, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Jamaica, also sought to dispel any misconceptions.

 

Pastor Winford Henry, director of ADRA Jamaica, said the focus was to help people in need, regardless of their political affiliation, association or ethnicity.

 

“Whenever there is a disaster, we are supported by our overseas affiliates. We have supporting offices all over the world, so they come together and support the country faced with a natural disaster. Some people believe ADRA gets disaster items from the Government to distribute. That is not so,” Henry said, adding that assessments are also conducted.

 

ADRA said that, to date, it has donated food, tarpaulin, hygiene kits, water tanks, and chainsaws to those in need.

 

“We will continue to do this good work, and we are thankful to all those who have been contributing to our relief efforts, contributing to our accounts,” Henry said.

 

JAMU also rebuffed claims that it has been collecting and sharing personal data as part of its outreach, noting that its relief operations follow strict internal protocols to ensure the privacy and dignity of recipients.

 

JAMU, in a release on Tuesday, said it does not share church-member data with the Government, nor does it collect information for the National Identification System (NIDS), the enrolment process for NIDS, or any similar initiative.

 

Pastor Adlai Blight, treasurer of JAMU, said ADRA, which is a registered charity and relief entity, also gathers information for the process of sharing relief.

 

“At no point in time is that information shared with any entity, whether government or non-government. We have a data protection officer that works with the organisation and we abide by all data protection protocols,” Blight said.

 

Brown also said, “We are concerned about the plight of Jamaicans but, as a church, we stand at a place of Jesus Christ our saviour. If Jesus was here he would be responding to people’s needs, and that’s what we are all about… . If we access information from persons we are duty-bound by law to keep that safe.”

 

The SDA said they will continue to provide assistance to Jamaicans in need, even as approximately 150 of their churches islandwide were impacted, partially or severely, and members displaced.

 

“We are not here to tell what we have done. We are just honoured and happy to be used by God as individuals and as a church to impact lives, serve people, and support the national effort in bringing back people’s lives to normality,” Brown said.

 

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com

 

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