Rebuild Dominica Hurricane Relief aims to bring normalcy after Maria

After the destructive strike of Hurricane Maria on Dominica, many felt helpless and wondered how they would begin to rebuild their lives.

When the outside world began to receive horrific accounts of the aftermath of Maria, many from the Diaspora felt compelled to respond to the needs of local Dominicans.

Consequently, the Rebuild Dominica Hurricane Relief Fund was founded in October 2017.

The organization spearheaded by Amina Emanuel, along with family and friends, ventured on its first fundraising event on October 22, 2017, in New York.

The event took place on a Sunday afternoon- a day filled with heartfelt performances by Dominican artists, traditional cuisine, and speeches that raised awareness.

In addition to the fundraiser event, the organization also created a Facebook Page to help raise awareness and a GoFundMe page to help raise more funds.

In total, the organization raised EC$10,000.

The ultimate goal of Rebuild Dominica Hurricane Relief Fund is to help Dominicans regain a sense of normalcy. Each year, our organization will commit to giving back to rebuild Dominica in some way.

This year, our members agreed to invest in education.

We have donated the existing funds to two schools on island, each receiving EC$5,000. With this money, we have chosen to pay the annual tuition of 20 students most in need: 10 students from St. Luke’s Primary School in Pointe Michel and 10 students from Charlotte’s Nursery School in New Town.

The remainder of the monies will be spent on school supplies for each school.

We endeavor to restore hope in Dominica and we wholeheartedly encourage many others to join our endeavor.