Hurricane Maria caused immense devastation to the entire island of Dominica on 18th September 2017. 100% of residents are severely affected. Most buildings are damaged; 90% of homes are uninhabitable. Many homes, including my own, were completely destroyed beyond repair. All power and communications lines are down outside the capital city of Roseau, which is a fragment of its former self. My community of Castle Bruce, home to about 1300 residents, lies on the east coast and really bore the brunt of the hurricane. It is also fairly isolated from the more populated districts, where relief appears to be more available. Food, basic hygiene products and medical supplies are in short supply. This is a rural community that is heavily invested in agriculture and was once able to feed itself. The hurricane destroyed all crops and now people are going hungry. Aid is coming but is slow and insufficient, considering the scale of the disaster and that many other neighbouring islands are also hurricane-afflicted.

We need your help!

We are gathering urgent supplies for the community of Castle Bruce, including water, food, medications, building materials, seeds, clothing and other essential items such as candles and diapers/nappies.

The people of my village are very strong, resilient and self-motivated. If provided with the materials, they will rebuild their homes and community themselves. The vast majority of villagers exist on very low incomes and really need support to care for their families and get their lives back on track. With your help, I aim to raise £20,000 to ship a container of much-needed supplies to the people of Castle Bruce, Dominica. Any funds raised above my target will be spent on rebuilding my own home and housing volunteers to assist with community rebuilding projects.

Below you can see images of our home before the hurricane, what remains after and some other images of the devastation along the east coast of the island.