Tag: La Soufriere

The UK-SVG Friendship Trust is pleased to present this substantial sum of Three hundred and thirty thousand EC dollars (EC$330,000) to the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as part of our ongoing commitment to help with the relief efforts following the series of volcanic eruptions which have had an adverse impact on lives and livelihoods in the country.

The Trust recognizes that this is a challenging time for the government to provide for the needs of everyone who have been affected, not only by the volcanic eruption but also by the corona virus pandemic.  We are aware of the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters evidenced only a few weeks ago by Hurricane Elsa. Thus, the Trust has step forward to support the Government to assist those under its care at shelters across the country and wherever possible to provide further support to those who are leaving shelters to restart their lives.

The Trust partnered with the SVG High Commission, the National Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Association UK and over 7000 donors to raise the funds being distributed today. It is the intention of the Trust to make further contributions in the near future to help those persons who have been displaced and are returning to their homes.

We have been particularly concerned about the plight of women, girls and persons living with disabilities and those who are otherwise at high risk. Working with the St. Vincent Cooperative Bank who has joined us to assure our local spending procedure, we have already been able to provide direct support to over 500 individuals through local partnerships including the Ministry of National Mobilization, Soroptimist International SVG, Je Belle Football Club and the Voice of the Disabled.

The Trust with the co-operation of the diaspora is committed to assist in the long-term recovery ahead and would continue to do all that it can to support Vincentians who have been affected by the recent events.

The Trust would wish to thank all Vincentians in the diaspora and friends of St Vincent and the Grenadines for their generous contribution to assist those in need.

The UK-SVG Friendship Trust is a not-for-profit organization based in the UK chaired by Mr Cenio Lewis. The other trustees are Mr Adaiah Providence-Culzac and Mr Steve Maingot. Mr Darrien Ollivierre is the Trust’s local representative.

We are committed to the young people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines! So we were delighted to team up with Summer Crash Academy Inc to provide psycho-social support to 7–12 year old children, who have been impacted or displaced due to the volcanic eruptions of La Soufriere.

Summer Crash Academy Incorporated is an organization that offers structured programs designed to meet the humanistic and psychological developmental needs of children. Their mobile workshops are essential psycho-social support to help the children. During the program students were kept meaningfully and gainfully occupied in creative arts and interactive presentations with the facilitator. Parents were also given tips on how to monitor their children whilst online.

The mobile workshops took place over a period of four days and was held at the following locations; Kingstown Preparatory School, Bethel High School, Buccament Bay Secondary and the Barrouallie Government School.

Children were exposed to a wealth of information which they can utilize not only for the present circumstance; but during the tenure of their lives.  They learnt various skills and were actively engaged in the crafts they were taught. The facilitators were versed in specific areas and were creative with their approach; as well as producing items with the resources which were available. All resources were well managed and the children and parents were appreciative of this initiative. This is just one initiative that shows that together we can do so much more!

We will be announcing more initiatives over the coming weeks as we endeavour to keep our donors informed of how the Trust is supporting St. Vincent.

Please continue to support us through sharing our content or by making a donation directly to the Trust via PayPal here: https://paypal.me/uksvgfriends

#StrongerTogether #SVGNextGen #thankyoudonors #SupportSVG #Keepdonating #UKSVGPayPal 

La Soufrière volcano is active, hurricane season has begun, what lies ahead for the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines?

On Friday 9^th April the La Soufrière Volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, began erupting and started the beginning of what has become a humanitarian crisis as declared by the UN. The volcano has erupted numerous times since, expelling ash into the air which has blanketed the island and destroyed crops, property, water supplies and infrastructure. Flooding and landslides began with the onset of the hurricane season, so the situation has got worse almost a month on in this, a commonwealth country.

• 19% of the population (20,000 people) have been displaced from their homes in what was the high alert and extremely dangerous Red Zone, the area closest to the volcano – NEMO SVG
• The economy and jobs which highly depends on tourism and agriculture is suffering further on top of the pandemic, due to the natural disasters.
• Before the floods and landslides the cost of recovery was forecast to be an estimated 50% of the country’s GDP according to Channel 4’ sources. What will the cost be now?

UK- SVG Friendship Trust is working with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) High Commission in the UK to fundraise and galvanise support and assistance for the Volcano and flood hit island. With the long road to recovery ahead we and our ambassador Donna Fraser OBE, would like to drive further awareness and engagement in the UK with your help.

We have been working with partners on the ground to provide support and have started to spend in St. Vincent on much needed aid to meet immediate needs with a focus on high risk groups such as young people, the disabled community and women. This week we made a big step as we partnered with the St. Vincent Cooperative Bank, one of the oldest indigenous banks. We have deposited a substantial amount of funds in St. Vincent to enable us to be more agile in providing financial support to projects on the ground.

Education and supporting getting our children back on track after a double-hit of the pandemic and natural disaster will have affected their progress, is also a major priority. We are committed to supporting St. Vincent in the short and long-term and we ask our donors and friends to continue to talk about the crisis, share content relating to the crisis and the recovery, put on fundraisers and donate to support the recovery. We must maintain momentum so that St Vincent can rise again.

So please continue to support us in our efforts in whatever way you can through sharing our blog posts, liking and sharing our social media content or continuing to donate if you can. You can find all our social media links and donate link here: @UKSVGFRIENDS | Linktree