Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly led a delegation to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday to deliver much-needed assistance to the islands devastated by the passage of Hurricane Beryl earlier this month.
O’Connor-Connolly, together with ministers and Members of Parliament, departed for Grenada on Tuesday morning aboard a chartered Cayman Airways flight loaded with relief supplies.
Their first stop was the Maurice Bishop International Airport where Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell welcomed the delegation.
The Cayman Islands government pledged approximately CI$1 million in financial and tangible aid, including tarpaulins, air mattresses, dry food and hygiene products.
A CIGTV report Tuesday evening stated that Cabinet last week approved a US$200,000 donation each for Grenada, Barbados and Jamaica, and US$500,000 for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. These funds are in addition to the donated supplies.
“As Caribbean neighbours, we have all experienced the devastation that hurricanes and natural disasters can leave behind and empathise with the people of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines as they start to rebuild,” said O’Connor-Connolly, in a government statement ahead of the humanitarian flight.
The Cayman Islands has joined a number of other countries that have rallied to support the Caribbean nations that have been stricken by Hurricane Beryl.
On Monday night final arrangements were made as the Cayman Islands delegation prepared for their relief mission.
O’Connor-Connolly, speaking at a brief ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said the Cayman Islands is still praying for all those suffering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Beryl.
Hazard Management Cayman Islands personnel, including Director Danielle Coleman, were part of the mission to deliver essential supplies to Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Terence Walters, Grenada’s national disaster coordinator, together with Coleman, oversaw the offloading of supplies.
Following the stop in Grenada, the Cayman delegation headed to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves hosted a brief ceremony to thank the Cayman Islands for its support.
“The greatest acts of solidarity is not to give from the abundance you possess, but from the little that you may have, and I know that you have your challenges. I know you have your difficulties as small developing island states,” Gonsalves said at the ceremony on the tarmac of Argyle International Airport.
He said all small islands have to say the same prayer of protection from the ocean as that of the fishermen.
Gonsalves said, given the “vagaries of climate change”, the ocean is in turmoil and it is the heating of the ocean that has fuelled destructive storms like Hurricane Beryl.
Mitchell thanked O’Connor-Connolly for her show of solidarity and fraternity in coming herself to deliver the humanitarian aid.
He said the show of support was “heartfelt and heartwarming” and “we have the Cayman Islands as an example to follow that when you are hit you get up and rise again”, adding the contribution will go a long way in ensuring that the people of Grenada and St. Vincent and Grenadines will rise again.
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