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| Brenda Allen assists with
loading the packages. |
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The people of St. Kitts
have rallied around their suffering brothers and sisters
in Haiti to donate approximately 120 boxes, barrels
and bags of clothing and other items to the earthquake-ravaged
country. According to Brenda Allen of Island Hopper
Boutique, the store in downtown Basseterre acted as
a drop point for persons wanting to donate to the national
relief effort.
"This was not
an Island Hopper effort; it was a national movement
to help the people of Haiti. About two weeks ago we
announced that Island Hopper would act as the drop
off point for those wanting to donate clothing, sheets,
blankets, etc. The original point was the Deep Water
Port area in Bird Rock but not everyone has transportation
to get there so we volunteered to do it here,"
she explained.
Allen said from the
onset, locals started bringing in clothes that were
not only clean, but some even purchased clothes just
to donate. She said donations were even accepted as
late as Tuesday, way past last Saturday's deadline.
"It was fantastic
to see that from day one people started dropping off
all sorts of items of clothing; from shoes to dresses.
The staff here also chipped in and stayed behind after
closing hours to help sort and pack the donated clothes,"
she said, explaining that no money or foodstuff had
been accepted.
"We sorted the
items into male, female, children and other categories
so that distribution would be easier once the shipment
arrives in Haiti. The packages were all labeled in
both English and French with a special label in French
that said 'A gift from the people of St. Kitts/Nevis'
on each box."
The packages were
assembled at the store and on Wednesday a moving truck
collected the items, which Allen said was done free
of cost by Woodsrite Enterprises. The packages were
taken to the Port where they were packed into a container
that will be shipped off to Santo Domingo on Saturday.
"SL Horsford
came forward and is using one of their cargo vessels
to take the packages to Santo Domingo free of cost
as part of their contribution to the Haiti relief
effort. The ship is expected to get there around February
12 and then the items will have to be trucked across
into Haiti for distribution and that should take about
two days," Allen explained.
"These packages
are a true reflection of the generosity of the people
of St. Kitts-Nevis and will bring significant relief
to the people of Haiti."
She encouraged all
to continue to donate all they could whether monetary
or otherwise, saying there were charity and other
organizations still accepting donations.
"Please give
to your local Red Cross and Salvation Army branches
and some private companies like Carib Breweries and
others are also doing their part. A little goes a
long way and if we each give one shirt or pants, used
or new, that's one person in Haiti that will benefit
in this trying time," Allen said.
Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince
was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake on January 13,
affecting more than 200,000 people. Since then humanitarian
relief has poured into the Caribbean island where
the infrastructural damage is estimated to be in the
billions of dollars and thousands are feared dead.
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