Dominica: UK High Commissioner praises diaspora – but help is still needed

Last updated: October 6, 2017 at 00:02 am

The Acting High Commissioner for Dominica in London has told WIC News that the response to aid appeals for the stricken island has been “overwhelming”.

But Janet Charles stressed that their is still a great need for support in the Eastern Caribbean state.

Category five Hurricane Maria brought carnage to Dominica when it made a direct hit on the island, bringing 160mph winds.

Almost all of the physical infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed – including the house of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who has to be rescued during the storm. Almost 30 people have died and many more are missing. Speaking to WIC News, Acting High Commissioner Janet Charles said that after a call for action was put out the “power of social media” sprang into life and they were flooded with help within days.

She confirmed that the High Commission in London, working closely with the Dominican Association, had already been able to send four 40-foot shipping containers.

[caption id="attachment_6384" align="aligncenter" width="500"] People donating to the Dominica relief effort in London. ©Twitter/Dominica_relief[/caption]

Items inside included food, water, baby supplies, tarpaulins and other essential items.

The High Commission is also overseeing the official fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding website JustGiving.com. So far the DominiCARElief fund has raised almost £170,000 (US$223,430)

“There has been such an overwhelming response. I just want to thank everybody associated – the Dominican Association, nationals, the van drivers, the packers. It was all hands on deck and Dominica’s High Commission is so pleased and so grateful to the hundreds of Dominicans who responded to the call to send aid.

Further aid was scheduled to be sent this week.

Urgent need for help to carry on

Charles thanked WinFresh, a company that markets and exports Caribbean produce, for allowing free use of their facilities to store all of the donations.

She also singled out Geest Shipping, who reopened their shipment bound for the Caribbean to transport the relief supplies without cost.

More images showing the state of #Dominica following Hurricane Maria https://t.co/onFPE52a0X pic.twitter.com/AmUr0XY1Bg

— WIC News (@WIC_News) September 22, 2017

Despite the initial sweet of support – which Charles described as a “real UK-wide response” – the situation in Dominica remains precarious.

“The need for help is still there. We are still encouraging everyone to get involved,” she said.

“Just like they say at the supermarket Tesco, ‘every little helps’. Whether it’s £5 or whether it’s £1,000, whatever you have. No donation is too small or too big to accept.

[caption id="attachment_6388" align="alignright" width="300"] Janet Charles[/caption]

“When we think of the devastation back home, the heart breaks. I just want to encourage everybody out there to continue bringing in their donations.

“We are appealing to the UK and international community to come to our aid so that we can rise again from the ruins left by Maria.”

The focus at this time should not be political point-scoring but instead what can be done for "the people of Dominica and for our country."

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DominiCARElief is the UK's  official fundraising effort for post-Hurricane Maria Dominica. It is organised and run by the High Commission of Dominican in London. More information can be found and donations can be made at www.dominicarelief.org.