Following the eruption of the La Soufrière Volcano in St Vincent an emergency relief effort is underway to help the people affected, find out what you can do to help.
The small islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean are home to around 110,000 people. Due to the explosive eruptions of the La Soufrière volcano, 16,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes and many of the displaced are now living in shelters.
At present large parts of the islands are covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash, creating the apocalyptic images that we have seen. At times, the ash plumes have been so dense that day has been turned to night. The ash-fall has caused serious air quality issues and affected water and power supplies.
There are many ways in which we can all do something to help and we would like to spotlight Help SVG UK – an emergency relief effort organised by Vincy Alliance Mas, who are a Community Interest Company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
Vincy Alliance Mas has been able to secure the free shipping of a container to transport essential items to St Vincent and the Grenadines. There are currently seven collection points that have been organised around the UK where essential items can be dropped off. The items needed included toiletries, sanitary products, canned foods and bed sheets – refer to the graphic for a full list.
The shipment departs on Wednesday 14th April, 2021 and the deadline for items to be dropped off is 1:00 pm on Tuesday 13th April, 2021. On arrival to the islands, the items will be distributed to the shelters and updates will be shared via social media to show how the donations have helped those people affected.
Vincy Alliance Mas have also set up a GoFundMe page for cash donations and have pledged to ensure that all funds will go to help people in need by liaising with the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) and other official bodies on the islands.
Help SVG UK
https://gofund.me/1cbdaca2
Alternatively, for cash donations there is also a GoFundMe page that has been organised by UK-SVG Friendship Trust which has been endorsed by the High Commission for St Vincent and the Grenadines as the official UK donation point.
UK-SVG Combined Response To La Soufrière Eruption
https://gofund.me/90dbdc94
