Dominic Boon swims 8.5 miles to raise funds for Hurricane relief in SVG

St Vincent and the Grenadines: Vice President of People and Talent Acquisition Dominic Boon swam some 8.5 miles from Canouan to Union Island in order to raise money for schools and communities affected by Hurricane Beryl in the Grenadines.

According to the information, Boon swam in relatively calm waters and favourable weather and raised nearly 12000 USD more than his anticipated target of USD $10,000.

Boon is a professional open water swimmer and did what most people who live in St Vincent and the Grenadines would not dare to do. It is reported that for his safety, there was a guide boat with personnel to assist him if he faced any difficulties during the journey. Luckily, the swim remained incident free and he surpassed his set target of fundraising.

The swimmer raised around 12000 USD in an initiative with the Cable and Wireless Foundation which will see funds being utilised, among other things, in order to restore and equip computer laboratories at the Hurricane affected schools located in the Southern Grenadines.

As the swimmer started his swim from Canouan, Red Cross Volunteer was on hand to provide support to Dominic Boon.

Before his swim, Boon outlined, “I really enjoy open water swimming and I have done a few of these events in other Caribbean islands but when I saw the impact of Hurricane Beryl on the Grenadines Islands, I knew I wanted to give back and raise some money to help people.”

He further noted, “Well, as part of the Cable and Wireless Charitable Foundation, we're trying to connect care and commit for all of the Caribbean region, and I hope this will inspire other people to give back to the community. Maybe it will inspire some people to learn to swim as well and that would be a fantastic feeling to to know that some people have got in the water and learnt to swim as a result of the work that we're doing here.”

According to him, the idea was that after raising the funds, they will be getting some devices and laptops to give back to the schools in Union and Canouan.

As the swimmer completed his swim and reached towards the ending point, he was cheered by his supported who were waiting for him on this side of the sea. 

Hurricane Beryl 

The Category 4 Hurricane Beryl passed over southern St Vincent and the Grenadines on July 1, 2024 having sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. 

It caused significant damage to several parts of the twin island nation, with southern Grenadines Islands of Canouan, Mayreau, and Union facing the most impact as 90 to 100 percent of homes in these islands were damaged. 

Notably, Beryl was the second named storm of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season and was the earliest forming Category 5 storm on record. It was also reported to be the strongest hurricane to have impacted St Vincent and the Grenadines since at least 1900. 

Following the destruction, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves visited the impacted areas and vowed to bring relief to the citizens and residents at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Carlos James, in an interview, revealed that the tourism sector of the island nation could take atleast two years to recover from the conditions which were caused by the huge impacts of Beryl.

He said that atleast 23 months are anticipated before one can call it a proper recovery of the sector generating solid economic activity. Not only this, but the government came up with a budget of EC$136 just for the recovery of the tourism sector following the worst hit Hurricane Beryl.