October 23, 2018

Proudly T&T: Help with Flood Relief Efforts!

On October 19th, I attended a Dewar’s Tasting Event at the Trinidad Hilton. Rain had been falling heavily throughout the day and as the night wore on, the pictures and stories coming across social media alerted us that this was quickly shaping up to become a different kind of weekend.

By morning it was evident that were living in the middle of a national disaster.

The festivities of the night before provided a strong contrast to the live images on my TV and phone of widespread devastation, but in their own ways both showcased the overwhelming generosity, optimism and resilience of our people.

That morning I spent the next few hours gathering donations and making a drop off to play my own small part in the relief efforts.

At this time, many communities are still under water and collections continue to be co-ordinated island wise. At least 120,000 people have been adversely affected, many of them displaced. Restaurants, caterers, and food suppliers have stepped up to donate meals, water, and more, as have other businesses in the private sector. Throughout the island, we have really shown what makes us great as people.

Unfortunately more bad weather is still forecasted and it will be quite some time until the full scale of the damage is accurately assessed. Until then the below link will take you some of the disaster relief options that you can take advantage of whether you are located here or overseas. Together we can all help those displaced to get back on their feet as soon as possible.