GIPSVG Inc delivers relief to 2016 flood victims

Consequent to the trough system that took place end of November 2016 and which caused significant damage to the Sandy Bay region, the Garifuna Indigenous People of St Vincent and the Grenadines Incorporated (GIPSVG Inc), based in NY, reacted with urgency in an effort to bring relief to persons affected during the floods.

GIPSVG Inc, in so doing, “set the wheels in motion” and began a disaster relief drive on December 1, 2016. A drop-off point was established at 5218 Church Ave, Brooklyn, to facilitate the collection of relief aid from persons wishing to help. This process lasted through to December 31, 2016.

In addition, an entire day – December 11, 2016 – dedicated to the collection of relief supplies at the Friends of Crown Heights Brooklyn, saw a collaborated effort between the GIPSVG Inc, the Office of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Consul Gen­eral and other Vincen­tian associations in New York and surrounding cities. The day also brought together Vincentians and friends residing in the USA in an outpouring of support, voluntarily sorting and packing supplies.

Working with the ‘Lydia’s Garifuna Medical Founda­tion’ on the ground in St Vincent, and NEMO, GIPSVG Inc, to date, distributed eight barrels on January 4; 10 barrels, 15 commer­cial bins, one refrigerator and one stove on Thursday, Janu­ary 12. Another shipment of 15 barrels, containing relief supplies, one cooker, and one television, is currently in-transit to Sandy Bay.

For members of GIPSVG Inc, it is the existing family relationships and the knowledge and experience of living in the communities above the Rabacca river that spurred the re­lief drive; as the saying goes “who feels it, knows it.”

The members of GIPSVG Inc empathize very much with all the families affected by the trough system and take this opportunity to convey sincere thanks to the many individuals and organizations, both in St Vincent and the Grenadines and the Vincentian diaspora, for their positive response, giving graciously to the families affected north of the Rabacca river.