The Rotary Club of Montserrat has donated 320 cases of Oasis Water to the St. Vincent & the Grenadines volcanic relief efforts.
According to a statement from the local club, they worked with Antigua Distillery Ltd. to procure and donate four pallets of 650ml water bottles, shipped from Antigua & Barbuda on Friday April 16th, and due to arrive in St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Wednesday April 21st. The water is being shipped directly to the Rotary Club of St. Vincent for dispersal to residents in need.
Water has been identified as the most urgent item required in St. Vincent & the Grenadines during the ongoing humanitarian crisis. Heavy ash from the eruptions at La Soufriere Volcano has contaminated the island’s water supply, and has caused an outcry from Vincentians to the regional community for assistance in providing water to the island.
The ash eruptions in early April have forced the relocation of approximately 30 villages closest to the volcano. 16,000 – 20,000 residents have been evacuated from the northern, most affected part of the island, and has resulted in 4,000 residents occupying 89 public shelters in the southern safe zone.
2020-2021 President of the Rotary Club of Montserrat, Linda Dias stated “Rotary will continue to play a role in disaster recovery and relief locally, regionally, and throughout the world. Here in Montserrat, our members immediately knew we had to contribute to the efforts. We’ve endured a similar volcanic crisis here in 1995, and we understand just how frightened, frustrated, and despaired our counterparts in St. Vincent must feel right now. Our Rotary District 7030 has also mobilized and all 73 clubs throughout this regional grouping are working on efforts to support St. Vincent & the Grenadines in their time of need.
Rotary will continue to act and respond when needed. We are one Caribbean and one Rotary.”
President of the Rotary Club of St. Vincent South, Phyllis Allen-James shared: “On the behalf of the Rotary families in SVG I am saying thank you very much and we appreciate your kind generosity.”
The Rotary Club of Montserrat would like to offer special thanks to our partners, the Antigua Distillery Ltd. for assisting the club with supplying water, and to Tropical Shipping who donated the freight cost to these efforts.
