Kenville Horne Sports Academy and Uk soldier partnered to help Southern Grenadines

A small sports academy in the North Leeward community of Rose Hall that partnered with a British Army officer, has resulted in significant support to the people of South Grenadines, who were affected by Hurricane Beryl on July 1, 2024.

Director, Kenville Horne (r) with a thankful resident

The support was in the form of food items, clothing, tents, sanitary and cleaning products, medication, school supplies, baby pampers, wipes, baby clothing, kitchen utensils, cases of water, electrical appliances, among other items essential for disaster relief, a release from Kenville Horne states.

Horne, who is Director of the Kenville Horne Sports Academy (KHSA) the organization responsible for the relief distribution, said he was overwhelmed by the quantity of items shipped to the Academy and he highly commended all who contributed.

Explaining how the partnership came about, Horne said following passage of Hurricane Beryl, he received a message from his friend, Darry Bailey, known on social media as Trouble Mekka, a Vincentian serving in the British Military.

“He spoke about his desire to assist those who have been affected by the disaster and, I indicated that the Kenville Horne Sports Academy will provide support, along with our partner Curtis Morehead in the United States,” Horne recalled.

Bailey also told a story of his experience and the support he received. He said when he saw what happened to SVG he had to do something to help.

“So, I created flyers and started a food drive where I drove my car to different cities in the UK, collecting food items. Because of how small the car was, I had to make numerous trips at each locations.” He said friends across the military set up stands for people to drop off donations which he would later collect and take to a central location for packaging.

Dynamite, a Vincentian artiste and his team collected a huge number of items from this and other locations, Bailey recounted.

With the support of The National Council in the UK, the items were shipped to St. Vincent and the Grenadines where the Kenville Horne Sports Academy conducted distribution in Union Island on January 29, and in Canouan and Kingstown for displaced Grenadines living on the mainland during February.

Horne said the academy appealed to affected residents through social media, to reach out to the Kenville Horne Sports Academy, so that we can identify those in need.

“ The response was more than we anticipated,” he said.

“Additionally some persons did not fit into the bracket for support. “…for example, there were many people on the mainland who were affected”, and in some cases, received help, “but the support was mainly for residents from the Southern Grenadines.”

The Kenville Horne Sports Academy has expressed profound thanks to the SVG Port Authority for handling the distribution in a timely and effective manner; the Ministry of Urban Development, Energy, Airports, Seaports, Grenadines Affairs and Local Government for facilitating free transportation to the Southern Grenadines, CEO of Metrocint General Insurance and The Vincentian Newspaper, Desriee Richards for proving storage accommodation; Manager of Karybal Farm, Karyll Balcombe for providing transportation and volunteering her services, the Vincentian Diaspora in the UK, the people of Union Island, volunteers and Curtis Morehead who continues to support charitable works, along with the KHSA.

A number of the recipients also expressed thanks to the Kenville Horne Sports Academy and Bailey for making the donation a reality .

“ On behalf of the people of Union Island, we give this guy and those who helped him thanks ,and blessings to bring these stuff on Union Island to assist each and everyone following the passage of Hurricane Beryl and we must pray for him, in his going out and coming in,” one Union Island resident stated.