The Dominica Red Cross is currently putting together emergency supplies to be shipped off to hurricane-ravaged St. Martin and is appealing to the public for assistance.
The Red Cross has already collaborated with telecommunications company Digicel in donating a number of items to Anguilla, another island severely affected by Hurricane Irma.
Managing Director of the Dominica Red Cross, Kathleen Pinard-Byrne, noted that the Red Cross has received some supplies so far for the St. Martin mission and is now launching an appeal for more items such as water, non-perishable food items, baby-care products such as diapers and baby formula and cereals specifically.
Donations can be dropped off at the Red Cross building in Goodwill between today and tomorrow as a send-off of the supplies is carded for Wednesday, September 13th, 2017 at midday.
“These are the priority items at this point in time. Obviously, as time goes along their needs will change… We have a tentative departure date of this Wednesday at midday. So over the course of today and tomorrow, we are asking persons to drop their supplies into Red Cross … we will not be accepting clothing,” she said.
According to her, the Director of the Red Cross in St. Martin has given word to the Dominica Red Cross that it is operational and receiving relief items and was also presented with an offer by “the captain of the Caribbean Explorer yacht” to transport these goods to St. Martin.
“At the same time, we got an offer from the captain of the Caribbean Explorer yacht which was sheltering in Dominica waters from St. Martin. They will be returning to St. Martin, which is their base, and offered to take these supplies up to St. Martin. So this is our mode of transport to St. Martin at this time,” Pinard-Byrne said.
She added that the local Red Cross has advised the St. Martin Red Cross to hold on to the goods they will receive until the “present unrest in St. Martin” has subsided, then proper distribution can begin.
“We are aware that there is a group in Point Michel that has been collecting goods for Dominicans living in St. Martin. Due to the present unrest in St. Martin, we have asked the Red Cross in St. Martin to hold onto these goods till they can safely distribute, and the Red Cross in St. Martin has approved this,” she remarked.
I think that was the previous load which has already gone to Anguilla. This is a new lot going to St Martin.
Not me again with red cross.
But wait! Didn’t I just read that the Red Cross signed an MOU with the DAIC for, among other things, to help distribute relief to disaster victims? So what is this thing about the Red Cross asking the public to donate stuff for victims of Irma? Isn’t the DAIC doing the donation, and the Red Cross handling the logistics and distribution?