"Wish List" from Canaries School Teachers

Dear Friends;
Here is the wish list of resources requested by the teachers in Canaries.

• Graded books K- grade 2
• Story Books
• Learning Carpet and Kit
• Building blocks and other leanring/educational toys
• Learning charts- ABC, counting, etc.
• Chalkboard boarders
• Name Plates
• Coloured and decorative paper
• Crayons
• Pencils
• Stickers (motivational)
• Motivational/rules Charts

As I type this, 4 bags of resources are already onboard a West Jet
flight on their way to St. Lucia.  Thanks to the Bonnyman family who
generously offered to take these goods with them.
Thanks to generous support from many of you, we will be able to
provide most of these items and have them at the school when it
reopens in January(we hope!)  We are endeavouring to collect gently
used children's books to help restock the Infant School Library.  If
you have any materials you wish to donate, please contact me or one of
our alumni volunteers.  We will also be collecting materials at
Chartwell Baptist Church and St. John's United Church, in Oakville.
Donations can still be made as well by mailing a cheque to:

Chartwell Baptist Church
228 Chartwell Rd.
Oakville, ON
L6J 6W1

Please put St. Lucia on the memo line.  Any donations received by
December 31st will have a tax receipt issued for 2010.

We will also use some of the money to increase the amount of protein
in the Christmas Blessing Bags for campers and seniors.  These bags
include rice, flour, pasta, lentils, beans, tuna, sardines, peanut
butter, corned beef, milk, soap and a treat bag of goodies.  There
will be 50 bags distributed through out the community of Anse La
Verdure.
An exciting new program will begin this year, during March Break.  A
team of 10 youth and 4 leaders will spend a week in our area serving
the communities of Anse La Verdure and Canaries.  Plans are underway
to run a weekend mini Camp Sylvester, run activity mornings in the 2
Canaries Schools, spend a day working at the new Community pre-school,
visiting and helping our seniors with small repair jobs, assisting at
Blind Welfare for a day, and preparing meals for our seniors and
others in need.  This is an wonderful opportunity to reach out in
simply ways to touch people's lives and show them God's love.
I received a quote from a friend in Africa yesterday that reminded me
of what is important.  "So many things are hidden from us through our
supposed wisdom and prodence.  We must get back to simplicity"  Smith
Wigglesworth.  There is nothing simpler or more special, than to be
able to come alongside folks, reach out to them in compassion, and
meet their needs in tangible ways.
Please pray that God will continue to use all those involved in The
St. Lucia Learning Project to come alongside others with a servant's
heart, hands and feet.  Help us to discern where the greatest needs
are.  Help us to see beyond the physical needs alone, to reach out in
a more personal way with everyone we come in contact with.  May they
see God's love reflected in our words and our deeds.
I am so grateful for all the support that we have received over the
past 7 years.  Your encouragement and financial help make all our
programs possible.  Your prayer support gives us strength to continue.
Thank you and blessings:
- Auntie Shel

Home

I arrived back from St. Lucia on Thursday night on a very crowded West
Jet flight.  Lots of happy tourists who seemed to have had a great
time at their various resorts and knew very little about the effect
Hurricane Tomas had on the island.  This is probably a good thing as
the island desperately needs the tourist dollars to continue to flow.
The trip down to the international airport at the south end was very
uneventful.  I am so impressed by the amazing amount that has been
accomplished in only 5 weeks with very little outside assistance and
limited resources.  There were, however, lots of signs of the damaged
that had been done in many of the low lying areas, especially to the
banana crops.  It takes approximately 4 months for a banana plant to
produce a crop.  This means a long wait for these farmers with little
money from insurance to pay for new plants and labour.
Our own village is getting back to normal although the water is still
quite cloudy with a muddy smell.  Most folks are back to work( if they
had a job) but the trip into Castries for students and workers
continues to be slow with several areas that are still quite tricky.
I spoke to several of the van drivers and they are managing.  They did
mention that the additional 2 heavy rains had made several sections
hazardous again and they were anxious to see some more work done once
things dry up a bit more.
Everyone in the village is so grateful for the food that we were able
to provide.  Thank you to all of those who generously donated money to
assist with this program.  Special thanks goes out to St. John's
United Church in Oakville and Gail's ladies group.  Both responded
quickly with support that enable me to confidently meet immediate
needs in our own village and Canaries.  Hurricane Tomas has reminded
me again about how important it is to have established such strong
ties with this village.  It is wonderful to say that you care, but
with your help we are showing how much we care.
Here are the totals:
Flour  600 lbs
Rice  682 lbs
Sugar  110 lbs
Oatmeal  25 lbs
Lentils  288 lbs.
Tuna  192 large tins
Sardines  100 tins
Evapourated Milk  192 large tins
Corned Beef  166 cans
These items were distributed to the 72 homes that comprise the village
of Anse La Verdure.  A regular Blessing Bag will be given to our
seniors in mid-December.  We will be returning to St. Lucia on January
1st.  At this time we will give out our semi-annual Camper Blessing
Bags and we will reassess the ongoing needs in the community.
I visited the Canaries Infant and Primary Schools and have remained in
contact with both Principals.  The 2 schools are operating in the
Primary School building.  Simona reports that the resources in the
school are in very bad shape but that they were able to move some
items to higher ground prior to the hurricane.  I have asked for an
inventory of damaged/destroyed items so that we can begin to source
out new materials.  From my own visit to the school, it was obvious
that most of the classroom resources were destroyed and that most of
the books in the library cannot be salvaged.
I had several conversations regarding the Community Pre-School.  I
have made contact with a local charity run by some women in Castries.
They fundraise amongst their friends and provide support for students
in need for education and medical help.  I am hopeful that they will
be willing to support several students at the pre-school and that we
will be able to find supporters here for several others to begin with.
There are currently 13 fee paying students at the school so it would
be beneficial to be able to add at least 7 more students to help cover
the costs of the new building, teacher salaries etc.  I will provide
more details once they are available.
Once I have received a total of the monies that have been donated for
Hurricane Tomas relief it will be important to evaluate the best use
for any surplus funds, if any.  My thought is to apply any additional
funds to the purchase of the most immediate educational materials
needed to provide for the continuation of the learning programs at the
Infant School.
I am also hopeful that we will be able to designate some of the funds
from this year's concert to continuing to replace what has been lost
in Canaries Infant School and to equip the new Community Pre-School.
It was very frustrating not to be able to visit with everyone in our
village but Sandra relayed daily how grateful everyone was for our
support and our prayers.  Several folks mentioned how important it was
to know that so many people were thinking of them, caring about their
welfare, and praying for their safety. I am grateful that we were able
to get to the village twice but that we could find alternate ways to
get the goods through when we could not go.
Thank you for your support and encouragement.  Please continue to pray
for the ongoing rebuilding of lives and infrastructure that is
underway in St. Lucia.  Pray too that God will direct the politicians
to continue to make wise decisions as they allocate the limited
resources as their disposal.
Blessings;
Auntie Shel

400 Lbs of Flour

After turning back due to heavy rain yesterday we were anxious to see
what the weather would be like this morning.  The skies were clear
first thing so we decided to head out while we could.
After a quick stop at the Infant School in Anse La Raye we headed
south to Anse La Verdure.  Despite the heavy rains yesterday, the
roads did not seem much worse and the river at Anse Gallet had been
opened up.  There was, however, heavy much covering the roadway and we
could not be sure when we crossed the bridge.  Once safely on the
other side we had an uneventful trip to the village.
We dropped off the 4 bags of flour at Simon's shop, visited with
several folks we had not seen on our first trip, took some video of
the water in the wash house, then headed down the driveway with Sandra
to check on the house.  We were so glad to see that everything was
fine and the view was as beautiful as ever.  As we opened up to air
the house, we also opened up the head tank to allow water to refill
the lower tanks.
I managed to take time to cut a few weeds in the main garden and Gail
and Sandra did some mopping.  We also found that termites had
seriously damaged one of the fooseball tables that had been stored
under the stairs and it had to be thrown away.
As we were just beginning to fill the jugs and water bottles to take
back up to the village Aunt Pat called with news that it was raining
heavily in Castries.  We were already watching dark clouds approaching
from the north so we packed up quickly.  Before we reached the top of
the driveway it was raining very heavily so we reluctantly left to
begin the drive back.
We were amazed how quickly the waterfalls began to spill on to the
road and the muddy water started to fill the ditches.  We were very
relieved once we were safely through Anse Gallet again but the rain
continued all the way to Castries making for a difficult drive.
I am going to return the jeep tomorrow but hope to be able to get down
island again next week if the weather dries up.  Unfortunately, the
weather forcast is for more rain, heavy at times.
Please pray for dry weather as the island and the people cannot take
much more in the low lying areas.  The capital was flooded again for
the 2nd day disrupting business.  The economy of the island is
reeling.  Any more disruptions will make recovery even more difficult.
Blessings to all
Auntie Shel

First Visit to Anse La Verdure

Back safe and sound from our first trip down to Anse La Verdure and Canaries.
The jeep arrived here at Coubaril at 9:00 and after signing all the
documents Gail and I headed down to the government warehouse to
purchase rice, flour and sugar in 100 lb. bags.  We were met at the
warehouse and shown to the office by one of the workers who assured us
we would not be left to carry the bags.  We were joking but it turned
out that the workers were refusing to load any goods in protest until
the government provided them with drinking water.
After some talking and the promise of water tablets to purify the
water they I, several of the men agreed to load our 4 bags.
Unfortunately, this did not include flour as they had none in the
warehouse.
With 300 lbs of rice and 100 lbs of sugar we headed down island.  In several places one lane of the road was missing but the other lane was clear with no traffic.  Heading down into Marigot and
the Rouseau Valley we saw more landslides and huge trees that all
closed part of the road.
Anse La Raye was in quite good shape and had already been cleaned up.
I stopped at the Infant School and walked through the site.  They have
obviously done a lot of work and the school looked ready to reopen.
Unfortunately, no one was there to speak with so I will try again
tomorrow on our way through.
Climbing our of Anse La Raye there were a few small slips, as they
call them here, but nothing major.  However, as we began to descend
into the Anse Gallet river valley we could see the reality of what had
happened.  The entire valley had been flooded, then left full of silt
and debris.  The river had changed course and was now flowing over the
road instead of under the bridge.  There was vey little water getting
through because of all the debris and silt higher up...This seems to
be the case in many of the rivers.
There were several more landslides as we headed on to Anse La Verdure
and we could see how much effort it had taken just to create one
passable lane.  Traffic was very light so we made good time.  There
was another major landslide at "Snake Corner" where there was a major
slip 2 years ago.  This was the area that the media had identified as
Plac Kassav.  As we turned the corner and headed up to Plac Kassav we
were relieved to see that the water works was intact and that there
had been no slip in this area at all.
As we pulled into the village we were greeted by Garvey smiling shyly
with Mario close behind.  Soon we were getting hugs from Billy and
Joe, Nicole with Nicoli, D'Andrea, Michaela, Simon, Leona and Simon.
We parked and walked down to Sandra's house to assure ourselves that
all the houses were fine and to get a big hug from Sandra.  After
unloading the bags into Simon's shop, we headed down to Canaries with
Sandra to visit the schools and see the damage first hand.
There were several more landslide areas on route but again the road
had been well cleared to allow vehicles to pass.  We didn't really
become aware of the extent of the devastation until we turn off the
main road and headed down to the Infant School.  I am not sure I can
find the words to describe what I saw.  I have taken lots of pictures
but I don't think that they will really give you a sense of the mess
things are in.
The playing field beside the school, if mounded with mud and sand.
The net ball court where the literacy carnival took place has been
shovelled off and mounds of mud now cover the fences on all sides and
spill onto the court.  The courtyard of the school at the back has
about 3-4 feet of mud and sand with huge ruts where some effort was
made to move the muck.  Someone has shovelled the mud from the bottom
of the steps at the computer lab and our resource room and black water
has pooled there.  Until this part of the school, called the annex
there is about 18" of muck.
Walking through the rooms of the main building was a very upsetting
experiencing.  Hanging from the ceiling there were brightly coloured
butterflies that moved in the breeze.  There were also a few banners
and posters high up on the walls.  There was then a mud stain that
rose about 2' from the floor, covered the desks and chairs, and any of
the books and resources lying about.
In one room I found 3 stuffed bears lying face down covered in mud.
In another I found one of bins of resources had survived unscathed
because it had been put on top of a desk in the upper classroom.
Another one of our resource bins was out in the alleyway splattered
with mud inside and out.
I spoke briefly to Simona Jn Batiste, the principal of the Infant
School and we agreed to meet tomorrow morning to discuss the extent of
the loss and to go through the library and resource room to assess
what can be salvaged.  Simona admitted she was exhausted and
disappointed.  The Ministry of Education continues to say the schools
will be open on Monday but no one from Castries had come down to view
the situation.  They had sent a contractor down today to give them a
price to power wash the building.  However, in several places there
are already large holes in the walls.  Power washing may well create
more damage in these areas.
We have been able to source out flour for tomorrow from a small market
in Marigot so we will purchase 4, 100 lb bags there tomorrow.  We will
distribute 200 lbs in our village and take the other 200 lbs to
Canaries as we know they have no flour to distribute right now.  I
spoke briefly with Magdelene Gervais( Miss Paul) today and we will
meet up tomorrow to discuss distribution of flour and how else we
might help.
I happened to meet with the pre-school teacher and received the good
news that we have a building.  It is the old health centre.  There
will have to be a lot more discussion before the school can open but
it was certainly something we have been waiting for.
Returning to Coubaril late this afternoon, I feel such a range of
emotions.  I am so relieved to see so many of our campers, women,
teachers and students.  Our village of Anse La Verdure was very
fortunate but everyone recounted how fearful they were as the winds
and rain pounded them for 23 hours.  After seeing the damage in
Canaries, I am so grateful that no one was killed and so encouraged to
see how well the village has united to begin the process of cleaning
up and rebuilding.  As I listened to folks recounting their
experiences however, I am aware that there is more damage than what we
can see on the surface.  These folks will need lots of opportunities
to share their fears and talk through their experiences.  Some of the
younger children do not really seem to be aware of the immensity of
what has happened but for some of the older children and many of the
adults they have been traumatized.
Please pray that there will be opportunities for folks to share their
fears with others willing to listen and that there will be sensitivity
among those in positions of responsibility.  Pray too that good
decisions will be made regarding the return to school and especially
the quick start up of the school feeding programs.
Blessings to all;
Auntie Shel
--
Michelle Anderson

Heading Down Island

I have finally been able to arrange a 4X4 to go down island tomorrow
and Thursday.  The roads are now much better so the timing is good.
We have been able to source out rice, flour and sugar in 100 lb. bags
at a  warehouse.  The St. Lucia government controls the price of these
staples so anyone can buy in bulk.  We hope to load about 500 lbs in
the jeep in the morning and deliver this along with 500, 2 lb. clear
plastic bags that will allow us to repackage and distribute.
I have arranged to speak with the interim principal of Camille Henry
Primary School in Castries.  This school consistently is one of the
top schools on the island and produces many of the top students each
year.  I am anxious to visit there and learn how they are managing to
be so successful.
It also sounds as if they may have one of The Learning Carpets in
their special education room.  This will be interesting to find out if
anyone is using it and if they are interested in learning more.
My trip here has certainly been full of unexpected adventures.  I have
spent a lot of time back and forth to Tapion Hospital with Aunt Pat.
The short version of this story is that she needs to have a pacemaker
installed.  We are hoping that the surgeon will be able to do the
proceedure before Gail and I are scheduled to leave on November 25th
as there will be a lot of running around to do, several days in
hospital, and then several days of recuperation.
Please pray that all the timing works out and for skill for the
surgeons and staff along with a speedy recovery for Aunt Pat.
I will give you an update on our village and Canaries tomorrow night.
Blessings to all;

- Auntie Shel

Photos from Canaries

Canaries, "our" local village was hard hit by Hurricane Tomas.   It's hard to even imagine what Canaries looked like before - or how they will get the schools and roads back to a usable state.  We hope to keep you updated.
Photo courtesy of Canaries Infant School principal Ms. Laura Francis.

The remains of a house in Canaries, washed into the river during the mudslides

Canaries Primary School - who we partner with - covered in a foot of mud

A fishing boat washed into the muddy streets of Canaries after Hurricane Tomas

The streets of Canaries - covered in mud after the hurricane

Trees and powerlines uprooted after Tomas

Canaries Infant School - "our school" - with a foot of mud covering the yard and the inside of the classrooms.

Digging out the bridge by hand

Food Update

I spoke to Sandra this morning.  This has become our habit as it keeps
me up to date and allows me to keep her up to date on my food forays.
She has recounted the number of homes and found we were short by 10.
Fortunately I had been buying by the case so there was extras of many
items that I was hoping to add to for the next delivery.
I am going to switch to buying some of the items in bulk such as
flour, sugar, and rice.  The ladies will then repackage themselves in
small 2 lb bags.  This will allow us to send more for our money.  I
will have to go searching for places where I can buy the giant bags of
goods but fortunately I know just where to get the small plastic bags.
I am encouraged that the ladies are anxious to take on the task of
packaging and sharing the food that comes down.  It has been a lot for
Sandra to handle on her own and it will be a way for the community to
work together in a very positive way.
Thank you so much to all of you who have donated monies to be used to
help those in need in our area.  I plan to use any excess to donate to
the school feeding program in Canaries which has been disrupted.  Many
of the village children are already undernourished and rely on this
meal 5 day per week as their major source of nutrition.  No wonder
these children struggle in school and life.  Let's hope the kitchen
area can be quickly repaired to allow food preparation to begin, even
if school is not in session.
Sandra reported that more and more people are walking up from Canaries
to do washing and to collect water.  This is a drive which takes us
about 10 minutes so you can imagine how hard it is.  Fortunately, the
return trip with the wet clothing and water is mostly downhill!!!  The
sun however is very hot and many of the trees provide little shade
having lost their leaves in the hurricane.  There will be many of the
old folks who cannot make this trek.
Word is that there is no rain in the immediate forecast.  This is good
news as so many areas are still quite unstable and couldn't withstand
any more rain.  It is also bad news as many areas still do not have
water or have just about run out of the water they have stored.  With
the dam continuing to be out of commission, Castries has had to rely
on redirected water from old catchments and re-activating old water
lines to get service to some areas that were connected directly to the
new resevoir and dam.  I spoke to someone yesterday whose husband is
with Wasco, the water agency.  She said she has hardly seen him in the
2 weeks since the hurricane as they work around the clock.  Her
husband says that this will be the norm for quite some time to come.
I hope he is paid for all this overtime as she works in a spa at
Windjammer resort which is now closed indefinitely.
I am off now to town to purchase the clear plastic bags for the rice,
flour etc. and to see if I can source out the bulk items I need.  I
have a few ideas but it will undoubtedly be another adventure.
Please pray for continued safety in our village and the growing sense
of community that this disaster has created.  Also continue to pray
for those in Canaries that are the most vulnerable, that relief will
continue to arrive on a regular basis, and that the water system can
be restored in much less time than predicted.
Blessings to all;
Auntie Shel

Some Water Back On

Water is now on in parts of Castries and will be available on a rotating basis.
Interesting how the worst of times can bring out the best in people.  I have spoken to so many people in the last few days and their conversation always begins with concern for how the other person has managed.
I met a young boy today who's house was destroyed in a landslide above Castries.  He and his mother had rescued several neighbours who were trapped in their home.  They are now living with friends and he is anxious to return to school.
Sandra called yesterday from the wash house in our village [Anse la Verdure].  The water is back on although it is still discoloured.  People are walking all the way from Canaries to come to get water.
In Canaries there is concern that they may not have water for quite some time yet and this means that school will not be able to reopen.  This means there will be no lunch program which is a serious blow for many of the poorest children who count on this as their main/only meal of the day.  Unfortunately, many of the supplies for this program were also destroyed by the flooding and the ensuing power outages.
I am anxious to talk to the principals directly to see if anything can be done to restart this program sooner.  I am sure however that both are doing the best they can to get their schools up and running as soon as possible.
Please pray especially for the most vulnerable in Canaries.  They struggle to survive in good times but they will need extra help in the next weeks and months ahead. and I do not think that the community itself will be able to cope.
Blessings to all;
Auntie Shel

Some Headway

Finally managed to connect with Sylvanus to hand over the food I was
able to buy.  It took some doing to find him and then to get my car to
where he was parked but it all worked out in the end.
I sent down 31x 1 lb bags and 31x 2 lb bags of rice along with 2 cases
of 7oz. of 48 cans of tuna in each case, 10 large packages of oats to
be divided, 3 cases of lentils or 72 bags, and a large bag of sugar to
be shared for now.
To give you some idea of what $50.00 cdn can buy here:
10 lbs of rice
10 tins of tuna
10 lbs of lentils
10 lbs of oats
1 lb of sugar.
That provides  a real help when there is no food in the village.
The food I sent down today will create a smal blessing bag for each of
the 61 homes in the village.  Not much but a start and a way to reach
out and show that they are in the thoughts and prayers of a lot of
people.
Tomorrow I will meet Sylvanus again and hope to have pasta, flour and
more sugar.  After this we will start to assess where the greatest
need is and focus there.
I have heard that Simon, the local shop keeper had been able to get
transport to come in to town today so I am sure he will start to
restock his shelves.  Some of the folks are getting back to work now
so they will not need on going help.  Others however, rely on their
gardens to get by and most of these have suffered major damage.
I sent down the first batch of water tablets today and Katie is going
to be in charge of making sure they are used properly.  Sandra
complained that the water they are able to get from the river is very
dirty.  We talked through letting the water settle and then pouring if
out carefully into another container using the cloth Katie will have.
After this the water can be boiled or the tablets can be used.
I met Virgilia in town this morning.  She lives in Anse La Verdure and
owns a little shop.  On Fridays she makes a very popular goat stew
that seems to draw a lot of traffic.  The roof of her shop had blown
off and she was in town to get the screws with washers to re-attach
the galvanized.  Then she will be back in business.  She seemed quite
up beat and said she had been reminding folks that they must remember
the old ways and go back to them.  She has been cooking on her coal
pot and says others must be willing to do the same.  Good for her!
I spoke to a number of people in Castries today in the shops and on
the street to ask how they were managing.  All were worried most about
water and I have seen some creative solutions.  One young man on the
beach had found a pipe in front of the Rendevous Hotel which is
currently being renovated.  He was patiently sitting under a palm tree
watching the drips from the pipe fill his one litre bottle while he
watched the surf break on the beach.  Someone has made a bamboo pipe
on the road up to the Morne and people are using this to fill bottles
and jerry cans with the constant runoff from the hills about.  This is
on the outskirts of Castries.
Sandra said that NEMO has brought more water to the village, 2 bottles
per household and that the men from the area have been working to
clear and restore the water system in the village.  Yesterday they
repaired some of the pipes and had water at the pump house but
overnight the pipe burst again and today there is no water.
I am now able to connect with Sandra more easily.  Today I visited the
offices of Digicel and was able to top of my cell phone, which she has
at her home.  I was also able to buy another cell phone which means
she can keep mine for now.  This is one of the benefits of this
disaster.  In the past I was unable to purchase a phone myself as I am
not a National.  Today, they didn't ask me any questions and the price
is about one half of the usual cost.
Things here at Aunt Pat's continue to improve with the new roof in
place and most of the interior ceilings repaired.  The damaged trees
have been taken down and hauled away and most of the other debris has
been collected.  I think that there will be lots of work for the next
few months as people continue to repair their homes and make better
preparations for any future storm.
Lessons have been learned from Tomas but they are hard lessons.  It
has been 30 years since anything like this has happened.  Let's hope
it is even longer next time.
Blessings to all
Auntie Shel

Day One

Spent this morning using a mop and squeegy to deal with water leaks
from ongoing rain but the sky finally cleared by noon.
Headed into Castries to find that Royal Bank ATM is out of order so I
would have to make due with the cash I had brought down.
At Mega Js found tuna and lentils by the case but no rice.  Headed to
Gablewood and bought rice and oats.  Out of money at this point.
Sandra and I spoke several times and had arranged that I would meet
Sylvanus in Castries, however by the time I had all the goods
organized he had already headed back to Anse La Raye with a full van.
Darn.
Trying to arrange to meet him in Marigot tomorrow to hand over goods
and water purification tablets.
Spoke to one of our mentoring ladies this morning when I call car
company to cancel van.  She now lives in Canaries but has been able to
get up to work for several days now.  She reports that the road is at
less than 50% and that they have to get out and walk through the water
at one of the bridges in Anse La Raye.
The car company has no 4 wheel drive vehicles right now but maybe by
later in the week.  Will have to keep checking in.
I have heard that there are plans to move heavy equipment up to the
dam by helicopter as the roads are impassable and the need is
immediate.  Real concern that if there is another heavy rainfall, the
whole dam may let go.  Let's hope they can move quickly on this.
There was no water in any of the shops that I visited today and
limited amounts of any beverages.  Here at Coubaril we boil the water,
cool it, then refrigerate.  This is fine for 2 people but is not a
good solution for many more.
Sandra reported today that our water was offered to everyone but many
complained that it was too far to carry it back.  This is, of course,
true.  There are several areas nearby where water is flowing down from
above in new mini-waterfalls.  She said folks are using this source
for washing and bathing.
A friend called today and excited announced he had been able to
purchase a fresh chicken and wants to share it.  Several other folks
are coming over for a sort of pot luck.  I just hope by then I will
have been able to hand over all the food that is currently filling the
trunk of Aunt Pat's car.  They could be enjoying a community 1 pot
tomorrow night.
I asked Sandra to find out how many houses are in the village - 62.
Wow.  I would have guessed no more than 40.  It is obvious I will have
to do some more exploring.  She has included everyone around the bend
towards Castries as well.  To be fair, the first load of food will be
distributed to every household.  Once I can spend some time in the
village, it will be easier to tell where the greatest need is and who
needs help the most.
Word has come that Cannaries will combine the 2 schools in the Primary
School temporarily as it had less damage.  Hoping to speak with Simona
directly soon to get more first hand information.
Blessings to all;
Auntie Shel

Hurricane Damage - Arial Tour

As many of you know, Hurricane Tomas hit St Lucia on Sunday, October 31st.  This video gives an idea of the widespread damage the island - which is volcanic, and its geography meant many mudslides.

A write up from the "Sun, Rain, Or .." blog by Finola Prescott, who has excellent connections to the situation in St Lucia:

What happened? A huge storm came up fast. So fast that no-one had time to prepare. Now granted, we all know we are supposed to prepare every year at the start of the hurricane season. But really. Most of us spend our waking and some sleeping hours trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Our little paradise island is not an easy place to live in and get everything you need to do done - cost of living is high, wages are not so; most people manage a decent enough life...but it doesn't extend to it being easy to prepare for rare disasters.
So the reality is most people give thanks for the blessings they have and hope to live another day; it's a common parting phrase "See you tomorrow, if God/Life spare". We live like most, in a balance of gratitude, work and complacency.
So today there is mobilization. Soufriere is almost incomprehensible. If you know Soufriere, it is one mountain after a next. St. Lucia is like that, but in Soufriere it is more mountains, more height in less space. So tourism, local housing....it's all on steep slopes or in the valley where the river ends. That's in the main, how St. Lucia is built.
When you fly over the island, you see snakes of houses perched on ridges, that's how we do it, and on most days, that's fine. But if you fly over today, you'll see swathes of red mud - our island is covered in a thick layer of red clay soils and in the rainy season, the water builds up and builds up until it can't hold anymore. To be honest, I don't think we yet have figures for total rainfall in the South as recording instruments were broken, but I heard we had 10 inches (250mm) in 24 hrs. Our soils were already soaked - they couldn't hold anymore.
We need help - there are calls for heavy duty earth movers, people need to lend their boats to the effort and we surely will need help keeping order as people will be getting desperate. With a tropical wave approaching, expected tomorrow, we pray that it does not develop or that it goes somewhere else as we cannot withstand more rain. Roads that people have been using, houses that are clinging by inches, if it rains, they will slip. It is probably worth trying to get as many people out of Soufriere before any further rain hits...I'll keep updating as I have news, but in the meantime -
I called the Red Cross - the main agency that assists here and they gave me the following info if you'd like to send money:
Donate to help for Tomas victims: St. Lucia Red Cross, First Caribbean International Bank, Bridge St. Castries, A/C # 2645392 swift code FCIBLCLC -Donate to help for Tomas victims: St. Lucia Red Cross, First Caribbean International Bank, Bridge St. Castries, A/C # 2645392
Swift codes for Intermediary Banks for funds coming in the following
currencies:
USD Wachovia Bank N.Y, SWIFT: PNBPUS3NNYC, ABA: 026005092
GBP BARCLAYS BANK, SWIFT: BARCGB22
EURO KBC BAN, SWIFT: KREDBEBB
Beneficiary Bank: FirstCaribbean Int’l
Bank Swift: FCIBLCLC
Because we are not so set up for e-commerce, you can't donate direct with your credit card - you can donate to the main Red Cross, but it won't reach us so fast - so please take the time to go to your bank and make a transfer using the info above.
Also NEMO (National Emergency Management Org)
there are full bank account details for emergency relief there.

Shop 'Til You Drop

At home the expression " Shop until you drop"  has a far different
meaning here!  Today I set out in search of corned beef and carnation
milk after consulting with Sandra this morning.  Sounds easy but not
here.
The milk had just been restocked but a case of 48 cans of 180g of milk
is very heavy.  I managed to get 2 in the cart but had to find help to
get them out and into the trunk of Aunt Pat's car.
The corned beef comes in sleeves of 12 cans so that was much easier
but after buying up all they had, I was 13 cans short.  Two stores
later I had the number I needed.
Driving back to meet Sylvanus in the centre of Castries was an
adventure as it seems the drivers are recovering their "joie de vivre"
and they are reverting to their creative driving techniques.  Two
cruise ships worth of tourists were also wandering all over the roads
as I don't imagine to many were willing to go down island under the
current road conditions.
Once I found Sylvanus, several of the other van drivers came to help
unload the goods and one even stopped to thank me for the help that we
were providing.  There are lots of stories of people working together
to help one another and I hope those stories continue to outweigh the
negative ones.
The shelves in the grocery stores are being restocked, the cruise
ships have returned to the harbour, and convoys of vans are now able
to make the trip from the international airport to the north end where
most of the hotels are located.  However, there is still no water
service in the capital or most of the island for that matter.  People
are becoming more desperate for the water and many cannot afford to
buy the limited supply that is sometimes available for a few hours.
Today I walked Pheobe,the dog, over the Morne.  This is the site of
the college and university for the island.  It has suffered little
damage but classes are still cancelled .  They have water at the site
as many of the buildings were once old army barracks.  Each building
has a huge cachment tank underneath.  I watched as people came to fill
buckets and bottles of clear looking water.  Even though the school
has water, classes will not resume for at least one more week.  I
spoke to one of the computer teachers and he explained that many of
the students from both coasts and the south end of the island still
cannot get to school.  They will wait for better transportation
systems to be put in place.
We have heard nothing of the Canadian team that was to arrive on
Sunday with 6 water filtration plants.  It may take some time to set
them up and there is not point announcing their presence until they
have been able to produce some good water.
Sandra and I are going to talk again tonight and I hope to hear how
the water tablets are working.  We will also discuss what other items
might be helpful.  I do have to be careful not to load Sylvanus up
with too much stuff each time.  His van needs to be full of passengers
so that the owner makes money to pay both Sylvanus and for gas and
repairs.  At the same time, I know that Sylvanus is anxious to do his
part as he can.
So far this system is working well and will have to do until I can
arrange for a safe trip down myself.  Continue to pray for energy and
safety for all the crews who continue to work to repair damaged
services and also for wisdom for those in authority that they will
continue to make good decisions for the benefit of the entire country
not just one segment.
Blessings to all;
Auntie Shel