REBUILDING STRUCTURES, REBUILDING COMMUNITIES, REBUILDING LIVES. 

***UPDATE***

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, we have been forced to cancel this event. We have already raised a huge amount of money and are so thankful to all of you who have donated. We are hoping to achieve our new target of 100k and this will be used to build a Nurse’s clinic and accommodation on the island of Man o War in the Abacos.  This money enables the island to house a full-time nurse, to benefit from regular and invaluable medical support.  This help is more important now, than ever, as the island, which has not yet recovered from the hurricane, has already been hit with multiple storms this year which has led to severe flooding and further land loss. 

Hurricane Dorian hit the Abacos and Grand Bahama on September 1^st and 2^nd 2019.  The hurricane stayed on the islands for around two days before finally leaving The Bahamas.  This category 5 hurricane is, along with one that occurred in 1935, the strongest ever hurricane to hit land in the Atlantic.  The damage left in its wake has been described as ‘worse than any war zone’ by the military and aid workers who witnessed it.  The official death toll is 70 people, although that number is expected to rise drastically.  

The Bahamas is a very special place to all of us and is very close to our hearts.  Understandably we want to do everything we can to help given the level of destruction and loss. 

In the early days following the disaster Dr Molly Mactaggart flew to Marsh Harbour (the Abacos) to volunteer with RE:ACT Disaster Response (previously Team Rubicon UK).  RE:ACT Disaster Response are a disaster relief charity that specialise in delivering immediate aid, offering last mile logistics and other support to the local affected population.  Molly spent 3 weeks with the charity, delivering food, shelter, water and power, helping to re-establish schools, medical clinics, police stations, churches, airports, homes and municipal buildings.  They also provided support and expertise to other NGOs, the Bahamian government, NEMA and the UN.  They had a very small team, deploying only 26 people in total. RE:ACT Disaster Response helped a total of 68,000 beneficiaries (a very conservative estimate). 

We are raising money for RE:ACT Disaster Response to return to The Bahamas, to help rebuild some of the communities.  Money will also be allocated to enable a future immediate response by RE:ACT Disaster Response, for future disasters in the West Indies. 

The Mactaggart family and RE:ACT Disaster Response thank you for your generous support, helping to get these communities back on their feet.