Rotary Clubs Coordinate Dominica Assistance
The Rotary Clubs of Liamuiga and St. Kitts are extending a helping hand to residents of Dominica who have been impacted by Wednesday’s passing of Tropical Storm Erika.
The clubs have arranged to send much-needed supplies, by boat, to Dominica tonight (Saturday) to aid residents there.
ZIZ News spoke with the President of the Rotary Club of Liamuiga, Tuffida Stewart who explained their decision to organise the relief effort.
“The Rotary Club of Liamigua, as you know, is a humanitarian organisation and this is essentially what we do. Generally, whenever there is a catastrophe, the Rotary clubs around the world, around the region come together to see what we can do to help and the Rotary Club of Liamigua is no exception,” she said.
“We’ve decided to not wait on the District but to forge ahead and provide the relevant assistance to Dominica. We have been in communication with the Rotary Club of Dominica and we’ve heard their needs and so, we’ve taken the decision to rally our membership and our sponsors to get the supplies to Dominica as soon as possible,” Stewart continued.
Immediate needs are bottled water, canned foods with easy open lids such as sausages and corned beef, crackers, bed linen and toiletries.
Stewart outlined how residents of St. Kitts and Nevis can get involved, noting that her organisation had made contact with the agent that is responsible for the M.V. Mate Abigail.
“The vessel will be coming to St. Kitts tonight at 11pm. Persons who are desirous of sending items to their loved ones can prepare their packages in clearly marked boxes, addressed to their loved ones, and we can ensure that that package gets there,” she said, adding that, “Persons who are desirous of making contributions can contact Rotary Club, 662-7160, and we can inform them specifically as to what they need to get the packages to the Port. At the moment, the packages are being delivered to the port and those packages are packages that are associated with the Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of Liamigua. Persons wishing to make contributions otherwise need to get in contact with us so that we can make arrangements with the Port Authority.”
She said several local businesses and individuals have already come onboard to assist residents of Dominica in their time of need.