One year to the day after Hurricane Melissa tore through western Jamaica, Montego Bay has a new answer standing on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard.

Together We Rise is a 62 foot monument created by Jamaican artist Scheed Cole and commissioned by Christopher Issa of S Hotels Jamaica, according to the S Hotels Jamaica announcement released through GlobeNewswire on October 28. It stands at St James Place on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard, and the announcement describes it as Jamaica’s tallest monument to date and the country’s largest monument dedicated to the helping hands of humanity.

Built from the storm itself

The monument is constructed from recycled materials and incorporates debris recovered from Hurricane Melissa, including a damaged light pole, according to the announcement.

Its 62 foot height was chosen on purpose, to commemorate Jamaica’s Independence in 1962. The number ties the country’s founding story to its recovery story in a single measurement.

The work took more than seven months and a team of 35 Jamaican specialists, including welders, fabricators, ironwork designers, concrete artisans and painters, according to the announcement.

A year the west will never forget

Hurricane Melissa struck Jamaica on October 28, 2025. Food For The Poor reported on the anniversary that the Category 5 storm affected approximately 1.6 million people and left more than 146,000 buildings with major damage.

The S Hotels Jamaica announcement recorded sustained winds of 192 miles per hour on land, with gusts recorded as high as 252 miles per hour. Recovery work is still running a year later, which is exactly why the monument’s message is gratitude, not just pride.

The artist’s own words

“This monument is about gratitude as much as resilience,” Scheed Cole said in the announcement. “As Jamaica marks one year since Hurricane Melissa, Together We Rise honors the people and communities who stepped forward to help others.”

Cole also explained that the statue was already in motion before the storm, and that Melissa changed its course: “We had to change course and create something more inspirational on both a national and international level.”

Janet Silvera, chairman of the Hip Strip Stakeholders Group, welcomed the monument as a new addition to the boulevard, noting its potential to draw residents and visitors while celebrating Jamaican talent, according to the announcement. It joins Cole’s Doctor Bird sculpture and other cultural works along the same boulevard.

A year after the worst storm in Jamaica’s recorded history, Montego Bay did not just rebuild. It built a thank you note 62 feet tall.

Photo credit: Montego Bay coastline, via NewLocay. The monument photograph in the official announcement was not republished here; Nation’s picture rule sources story images away from reporting outlets.