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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