On the early morning of April 8, the world look on in amazement as La Soufriere volcano finally unleashed its disruptive power on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines after threatening to blow its top for five months.
Since then, the volcano, situated on the northern tip of St. Vincent (the largest of the islands and cays that make up SVG) has been erupting periodically spewing smoke thousands of feet in the air and covering nearby communities with ash
Moved by images of thousands of residents forced to flee the deadly downpour of volcanic ash, our community and other Montrealers responded overwhelmingly to a call by the St. Vincent and Grenadines Association of Montreal for donations to assist the stricken nation.
By the end of the day Saturday, April 17, the hall of St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Cote St. Catherine street in Cote des Neiges was packed, wall to wall, with supplies that were being dropped off from daybreak to when the stipulated curfew hour stopped activities.
Along with the hundreds of individuals who made it their mission to gather toiletries, baby supplies, dried and canned goods, cases of water, juice and other necessities, almost every community organization and many churches were on hand to offer assistance to the cause.
Standing out in the outreach effort was the congregation of Bethlehem United Church of Jesus Christ, of 2255 West Hill in NDG who brought with them a van loaded with supplies.
The massive outpouring of support meant that Jack Dear, president of the SVG Association and his dedicated team of volunteers had to spend several days sorting the donations and packing barrels, boxes and crates that will be jammed into at least two shipping containers to be sent to St. Vincent with love from Montreal.
“I think we’re well over a hundred barrels as well dozens of boxes and crates so far and we’re continuing to sort out stuff,” he told the CONTACT, three days after the designated drop off period. “We’ll have a better gauge in the days to come and a better opportunity to thank everyone but for now, we’re still working to get it all to the people who it in St. Vincent.”