Throughout 2025, we experienced countless moments of pure happiness and overcame instances of adversity together, as a community.
To show you what inspires us to care for the most vulnerable, we wanted to highlight some stories that brought joy to our MSC Family in 2025. These moments, made possible by the generosity of supporters around the world, are the result of many hands working towards one mission: to share love and dignity to every person, no matter their circumstance.
Global Community Steps Up to Outlast Historic Hurricane Melissa
In late October 2025, Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm with winds up to 185 mph, struck Jamaica, leaving widespread destruction. MSC faced a critical challenge: protecting nearly 500 children and adults with disabilities who could not be evacuated.
Blessed Assurance, MSC’s home for 33 children and adults with disabilities, was directly in the storm’s path. Caregivers quickly moved everyone to upper rooms as floodwaters engulfed the ground level. By God’s grace, all residents, staff, and caregivers survived, though the home was heavily damaged.
At the height of storm recovery, MSC’s founder Msgr. Gregory Ramkissoon appeared on CNN to provide a firsthand account of the hurricane in Jamaica:
In the weeks after, MSC staff worked tirelessly to restore power and water and cleanup has been a massive undertaking. Yet the dedication of caregivers, staff, and volunteers has ensured residents continue to receive the best care and comfort.
Thanks to support from the Jamaica Defense Force and mission volunteer building teams, the rebuild of Blessed Assurance and other affected homes is now well underway, bringing hope and restoration to the MSC Family.
Residents Achieve New Milestones in Health and Wellbeing
How much does a home mean to you?
For children and adults with disabilities who have nowhere else to go, a home at MSC means everything: shelter, food, medical care, attentive caregivers, and a loving family.
Home helps us become who we are meant to be. Home means a space to live joyfully without shame.
Safe at home, residents thrive…
Giovanni at Sophie’s Place shares his smile with the world. Nqaba at MSC Zimbabwe plays football and jumps on the trampoline. Chula at Hogar Immanuel shines with confidence.
MSC is proud to provide homes that empower the most vulnerable. A sense of home is at the core of our mission and will never go away.
Caregiving and Therapy Transform Residents’ Ability to Participate in Community
2025 was a year of learning and nurturing for MSC’s staff.
For caregivers and therapists at MSC globally, providing lifelong homes of safety and joy for children and adults with disabilities is an ever-evolving task.
Claudette Angus, a physical therapist at Jerusalem in Spanish Town, Jamaica, reflected how knowledge about cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus, Down syndrome, and other conditions affecting residents at MSC is now miles ahead of where it was when she began her career. She’s intentionally been growing her knowledge and expertise in the field, picking up new methods of physical therapy and sensory integration and bringing them to MSC residents.
“Today,” Claudette remarks, “I can look at the residents and know that they are alive because of our work.”
Across the island at Sophie’s Place, Terrieann, a caregiver at Sophie’s Place, notes progress in resident wellbeing that she attributes to excellent emotional and spiritual care.
In her decades of experience at Sophie’s Place, Terrieann prioritizes the power of human connection as a form of caregiving. “These [residents] need tender loving care. So we are here. We are their guidance, their mother, their everything.”
She holds a special bond with Noella, who has been living at MSC since 1992. Through the years, a relationship forged through daily routines and songs at circle time have become a healing factor in Noella’s life. Their connection is a glimpse into the lasting relationships that make MSC a place where residents are valued unconditionally––every single day for their whole life.
Teenage Mission Volunteers Are Inspired to Live Meaningfully
Mission trips are an incredibly impactful experience for individuals of all ages, backgrounds, careers, and faith traditions. In 2025, high school students uncovered truths about themselves and the world we live in while exploring Jamaica and creating bonds with residents who they will never forget.
For boys at The Heights School, staying with the residents for a week helps them realize that the best measure of success in life is the presence of love. Being face-to-face with children who rely on others for their most basic needs, and radiate joy nonetheless, inspires the students to reflect on their own values, assumptions, and purpose.
Returning mission trip chaperone Rich Moss appreciates a notable transformation in the boys, who are under a lot of pressure to succeed academically, athletically, and socially. “There’s this internal shift: more openness to friendship, a deeper appreciation for life, and a greater awareness of others’ needs.”
Another testimonial from Blake, a student at Regis High School in New York City, reveals how simple encounters with others who are different from ourselves can transform the way we see the world.
During his week at Sophie’s Place, Blake found that in order to feed Raheem his breakfast, he had to kneel. What he took away from that service experience was profound.
“We kneel to pray, but in moments like this one with Raheem, I learned that service itself is a kind of prayer. A prayer that asks God not for reward, but peace where there is pain. A prayer which asks to carry one another’s suffering. A prayer that asks for these children to be seen. This is what our work in Jamaica asked of us: we would cook food we would never taste; we would plant seeds on farms we would never see harvested; and we would paint schools that we would never attend. We chose to kneel.”
2025 mission trips brought many gifts to the residents in Jamaica and Dominican Republic, but as many volunteers will report: the life-changing love the residents give them to take home is extraordinary.
New and Repaired Wheelchairs Enhance Independence and Comfort
For children with complex medical conditions, a custom wheelchair offers far more than mobility. These chairs are designed to support each child’s body in a way that reduces pain, encourages proper posture, and allows them to engage more fully in daily life.
Teams traveling to MSC in Jamaica and Dominican Republic delivered both expertise and compassion through customized wheelchairs. Residents are free to exercise independence and their unique personalities from the comfort of these modernized wheelchairs.
From resident milestones and restored wheelchairs to mission trips rooted in presence and caregiver breakthroughs once thought impossible, each story from 2025 reflects what happens when compassion meets commitment.
As we carry these moments forward, we remain deeply grateful for every person who makes this mission possible and for the countless stories still unfolding within the MSC Family.