NOTE: This fundraiser is in partnership with and on the behalf of the Salisbury Disaster Preparedness Committee and many committed and dedicated “jean Bawi” (people of Salisbury) in the US, Canada, the U.K./Europe, other Caribbean countries and all over the world.
The picture above is of the beautiful town of Salisbury, Dominica. On Monday night, September 18th, the town, along, with its home, the wonderful little island of Dominica were devastated by Hurricane Maria, which struck the town and the island too quickly to prepare sufficiently. As of today, September 21st, the death toll in Dominica is already at 16, with another ~20 missing and more reports coming in on fatalities. 95% of homes suffered damage. There is no power, no water and food supplies are diminishing. Some homes are completely demolished. The people on the island have lost essentially everything. It will take years to recover from this disaster.
Given the widespread damage, a group of us from the town of Salisbury living in the US, UK/Europe, Canada and other parts of the world, have decided to focus our relief efforts on the town of Salisbury and our sister villages of Coulibistrie and Morne Rachette. All funds collected will be used to support getting water and food and medical supplies to these areas.
We did this quite effectively two years ago when Tropical Storm Erika struck the island and the impact to Salisbury was long-lasting. The people in Salisbury are beyond amazing – they are resilient, hardworking and motivated. They are organized and strong. They partnered with us to provide water and food to the three towns for weeks.
Together we will do this again. Together we will save lives and rebuild.
When we were growing up in Salisbury, there was a huge sign at the entrance of the town that said “Welcome to Salisbury: People of Peace and Love.” That has not changed. And it’s why so many of us who are committed to this initiative are still so connected and our love for the place runs so deep. Our friends are there, family still lives there, neighbors are there. And they need us to survive.
We stand with our people of Salisbury. We will be there for them. And we are in it for the long haul…
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How donations will be used:
– About 90 of us from Salisbury are currently on a WhatsApp chatroom – we are working together with our Salisbury Disaster Preparedness Committee and the elected Parliamentary Representative Hector John to deliver food and water to Salisbury and our sister communities.
– Last week, a shipment of water was delivered to the village and was funded by one of the members. In order for these types of deliveries to be sutainable (each shipment cost on average $1500 USD min), we will withdraw funds from the US and transfer or send via moneygram to the people on the ground in neighboring islands like St. Lucia, Guadeloupe or Martinique who can help us buy and ship/deliver the water.
– Every withdrawal activity is then shared with the group of 90 so that there is full accountability of how the money is being spent.
