The beautiful Caribbean island of Dominica has been completely destroyed by  Hurricane Maria that hit the island on the 19th September 2017 and my personal friends have gone through a most traumatic experience and are suffering badly. Please help me send urgent and most needed relief to them.

‘Days after it was hit by Hurricane Irma, the Caribbean island of Dominica was ravaged by the most powerful storm in its history. Many buildings were completely destroyed and virtually none were left untouched. Officials put the death toll from Hurricane Maria at 27, and more than 50 people remain missing. With the sheer scale of the devastation hampering relief efforts, officials believe the recovery process will take several years and billions of dollars’ (The Guardian, 30th of September ).

Some of you may know that Dominica, also called ‘the Nature island of the Caribbean’, is very close to my heart - I’ve been to this beautiful island various times and have numerous close friends there. I’ve been extremely worried for all my friends since hurricane Maria hit and spent hours and hours trying to find out if they are ok. Thankfully everyone I personally know has survived however some of them have been hit really bad. Those that were already the worst off have unfortunately been hit the hardest. The house of one family I know has been completely washed  and  blown away, there is literally nothing left of it. Thankfully he and his wife and 3 kids took shelter somewhere else in the village, however sadly his neighbours passed away. Three other families had their roofs blown off, houses badly damaged, and pretty much everything in it blown away or damaged beyond repair, and many other families had their houses badly flooded.

I can no longer sit still as my friends in Dominica are still going to bed hungry and thirsty every night since hurricane Maria hit their beautiful island and some of them still do not even have a roof above their heads. I have already donated to the general relief efforts but any relief that has reached the island so far is minimal and it’s not reaching everyone. The conditions on the island are dire, there is no electricity, no running water and food and bottled water is very scarce. My friends have to walk for miles along destroyed roads in the hope of getting some minimal supplies for their families. Their young children are very vulnerable as conditions are getting more and more unhygienic. Communication is scarce as phone reception is not working everywhere and people have no means to charge their phones.

Personal shipments have are now being accepted on the island again and therefore I am planning to send a shipment of most needed relief items directly to my friends in need (food, toiletries, babywipes, pampers, tarpaulin, bedding, flashlights, batteries, solar chargers, etc). Further funds will be used to help rebuild my friends’ houses. Any donations will be greatly appreciated, no matter how small, thank you very much for your help.