A shipment of relief supplies from the Montreal Maria Relief Group has arrived in Dominica.
The shipment, containing 43 barrels of food, school supplies, men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, toiletries, among other things, is being distributed to various air marked communities in need and the Princess Margaret Hospital.
This represents the response of Dominicans in Montreal to assist with relief supplies after Hurricane Maria.
When the deadly hurricane struck Dominica last year dealing a severe blow to the country’s infrastructure, destroying homes and affecting the lives of the entire population, mobilization efforts went into full gear in the city of Montreal, Canada.
The effort involved a four-fold approach comprising mobilizing of Dominicans in the city, a media appeal aimed at informing the wider city of Montreal about the devastation of Hurricane Maria on Dominica. This media appeal was intended to keep Dominica in the consciousness of Montrealers who were at the time inundated with media coverage of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The approach also included fundraising and the collection of supplies.
But what does such an effort take? Some members of the relief team share their experiences of the process.
Phillip Gabriel, a retired welder and president of the Montreal Island Culture Association, felt an innate call to action after Maria.
“I said to myself we cannot let Dominica down, we must help in some way and I started calling people I know to start with the effort,” he says.
An ad-hoc committee of Dominicans in the city was formed specifically tasked with getting the relief effort off the ground.
But it was not easy says Gabriel since Montreal has a small Dominican community, and it was a moment when most people were preoccupied with the plight of their own families at home.
“So we asked everyone to do what they can, just participate somehow,” Gabriel states.
In a large francophone, metropolitan city of 1.75 million residents, the picking up process was a logistic feat says Gabriel.
“I had to use my car to transport a large amount of the supplies. So I was picking up stuff all over the city, from individual homes, business places and running up and down high rise buildings,” he notes.
Another longtime Dominican Resident in Montreal, Rodney Joseph, worked with his church and neighborhood, “myself and a fellow Dominican colleague made an appeal to our church community for food and monetary donations and the response was pretty good”.
“My wife Margaret and I also made an appeal in our neighborhood, we went around door to door handing out letters to our neighbors explaining to them the Dominica situation. My garage was supposed to be a drop-off point but it became a de facto warehouse and a sorting and packing area” says Joseph.
Sandra Shillingford anther member of the committee says “I was there to assist in any way I could and with Phillip, Mona Jackson and Anne Clarke, I became part of the packing squad”. “Packing the barrels is a long process that involves sorting the groceries and checking expiry dates, sorting the clothes to ensure that they were clean and appropriate for the Caribbean”.
Ketlyn Maitland credits the team spirit in getting the effort off the ground. “We had a great, dedicated team of Dominicans who worked and ensured that we saw these barrels off in the middle of winter.”
This spirit is summed up by Rodney Joseph: “the experience was interesting. It was something that I enjoyed doing because I know it was for a good cause, and we would do it again.”
great job dears
Thanks to ALL who made that possible!
I’ve said it before BIG thanks to all those who helped Da after those storms.
Happy to read that the shipment from the Dominican Community in Montreal made it to Dominica. My hope is that it is distributed effectively.
To date, 8 forty foot container has left Toronto Canada under the leadership of the Trade and Investment Commissioner for Dominica in Canada with relief supplies to Dominica. Would like to know whether anyone of these containers has made it to Dominica and if so has the supplies been distributed to the Dominican people.
or is it being stored in warehouses as was done during Ericka for election purposes?
Concern Dominicans in Toronto would like to know as we spend countless hours sorting and packing relief items for the people of Dominica.
If you are so concerned why don’t you take a trip to Dominica to find out the where about of the containers. Prove yourself to not to be a WOLF IN SHEEP CLOTHING… Damn UWPITE as you are. On whose name did you address the containers?
well if you all know that relief supplies for TS Erica was stored in warehouses, and NOT distributed effectively to many needy Dominicans(and that’s a fact), why would you all follow the same route, and now be wondering. I too was part of relief efforts done in the USA, and with all the relief that was collected and sent by us in the Diaspora, Dominicans are still in dire need. I was in Dominica from October, i was not looking for relief, I could provide for myself, thank God, but I would not be surprised if I did not pay $2.00 for bottled water, that I myself may have collected and transported to collection site for shipping to Dominica. We really have to do things better. There are churches, different organizations that relief can be sent to, now that it is quite clear that relief sent to Dominica after Erica and now Maria is not distributed as it should be. We are the ones footing the cost, putting in the time and effort, we need to ensure that the needy, the elderly, the children,
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We need to ensure that ALL the needy, ALL the elderly, ALL the children, Adults with no jobs and means are assisted with relief items, not just a chosen few. People are in need, people are hurting.
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We need to ensure that All the needy, ALL the children, ALL the elderly are assisted with relief supplies, and not just a chosen few. Thanks to all who have helped Dominica and Dominicans, everything is appreciated.
So I joined a dominican committee up in Texas to help raise funds and send relief back home. The first batch was for the government to distribute. And we continued to raise money and send things back home in DA. You doh hearing…in the village up north above soose…dey tell my uncle…he cyan get relief because he have family overseas? So I pull out from the committee business and I sending barrel with my family name on it instead. I wash my hands with the relief business…some of our people too cochon. And the few that genuine they pressing them. Cha!!
Big thank you, great work. In addition, will the government please ask a donor country for a pair of FORK-LIFTS? Believe it or not, this is one of the huge BOOTLE-NECKS the Port is facing. I had to help by standing on one of the only 2 beat up fork lifts just for it to get traction so that a guy can help with the 2000 containers still on the port. Folks, it’s not easy, hearts still bleeding but keep the help coming.
Apparently they need to service their forklifts or buy more! that’s a management issue on the port… its short sightedness!
Thank you all, thanks to Ketlyn Maitland, Phillip Gabriel, Rodney Joseph, Sandra Shillingford, Mona Jackson, and Ann Clarke, Thank you all again, excellent work
Thank you , hope Mr BAD- WILL help solve in the problem .
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Thanks to all the good people in Montreal who went above and beyond to help the wonderful people of Dominica in this time .
I promise that everyone in Dominica will get their fair share of the supplies. The person handing the items out will have his eyes close so that who so ever will may come and get.
This is good news. Thanks for your effort. I think that the situtation on the port needs to be addressed. A friend shipped barrels from NYC intended for relief in specific villages since November and it is a nightmare to get them off the port. I am happy that you have been able to get your barrels cleared and hope that the people who will benefit from them will be grateful just the same.
I agree with you those containers should be moving out much quicker, for the amount of containers that were and is still coming in to Dominica every, the people should be getting the supplies and stop the nonsense that’s going on, I understand that we also received relief shipment from Canada too and that’s good.
Correction, it should read relief shipment from Toronto arrived.
How thoughtful God bless y’all.