ISLAND TO ISLAND
Dorian relief group still working to remind P.E.I. of Bahamas recovery
Dorian relief group still working to remind P.E.I. of Bahamas recovery
Jordon Edwards is taking a portion of every paycheque to send to his family in the Bahamas.
Ever since hurricane Dorian, he’s been worrying about the situation back home. His family told him it doesn’t make sense to move back right now because of the country-wide displacement, he said.
He grew up in Freeport, Grand Bahamas. He moved to Charlottetown, P.E.I. to study business at Holland College, and is currently working as a mussel fisherman.
“(I’m) trying to live in both worlds.”
Dorian passed through the Bahamas in early September this year. It later hit P.E.I. as a posttropical storm.
Of his two island homes, the Bahamas was hit much harder. Currently, there still isn’t clean drinking water in much of the region due to the risen sea levels, he said.
“If a community has no proper running water, they’re in trouble.”
He’s part of the P.E.I. volunteer organization that started in the wake of Dorian, called "Island to Island Hurricane Relief".
An information and fundraiser drive was held at the Farm Centre in Charlottetown on Nov. 2., and another one will be held on Nov. 9.
Alisha Knockwood, a P.E.I. volunteer, said their events have been received very positively. This may be because Islanders on P.E.I. also felt Dorian’s impact.
“It becomes a little more relatable,” she said.
But it’s been about two months since Dorian occurred, so one of the main challenges is keeping people updated and aware of what’s happening in the Bahamas.
“It kind of goes away off of social media and off of the news."
Luke Ignace, while hopeful, wasn’t expecting as big a turnout to this event as was received at past events.
“(But) you gotta remind people,” he said. “The Bahamas is still in need.”
He grew up in Freeport and founded Island to Island. He’s passionate about bringing the Bahamian community on P.E.I. together, as well as connecting it with other communities across the province.
“We’re both in the Atlantic Ocean, we both got hit by a hurricane.”
Recent updates from the country are that the Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport is set to reopen for commercial flights on Nov. 15 following extensive damage. However, many people are still living in shelters, including the patients of the Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand Bahamas, Ignace said.
He hopes events like this one help keep this issue from being forgotten. The organization’s also hoping to fill a trailer – located at the Sobey’s on
University Avenue - with relief supplies to transport to the Bahamas by Christmas time.
Ignace invites community members and provincial leaders to make donations in person at the trailer, as he believes personal connection is a good way to support the P.E.I. Bahamian community.
“We welcome you to give,” he said. “Just come by the trailer and ask.”