Fifteen months have gone by since hurricanes Irma and Maria ravished through the U.S. Virgin Islands and left massive destruction in their wake and the recovery is far from over. The region is still in dire need of restoration efforts. In a visit to St. Thomas in September, our own native U.S. Virgin Islander, Shanelle Gibbons saw firsthand how hard hit the islands were and how much remains to be done.
- Schools sharing facilities.
- Students attending classes in modular classrooms.
- Hotels still remain closed or being used solely for relief workers.
- Traffic lights and street lights missing.
- Roads washed away and in dire need of repair.
- Debris still visible throughout the island.
- Roofs of houses covered in tarp.
- Recreational centers destroyed.
And those are the things that we can see on the outside without much effort. There are several people that continue to need provisional supports, schools need supplies, etc.
To help relieve the need, if even a very small portion, TecFac and North American Properties teamed up to refurbish and donate a few laptops.
• Three laptops were given to the Sugar Estate Senior Residence.
• Three laptops were given to the Community Action Now! (CAN) organization.
• Two laptops were given to the Bethel Missionary Baptist School.
As we enter into 2019, we will continue to look for ways to help our fellow U.S. citizens.
One of the ways you can help is to make the U.S. Virgin Islands your next vacation destination. Tourism is the main industry and therefore they depend on visitors to help strengthen the economy, either by plane or by sea. Enjoy your next vacation while also contributing to their restoration efforts.
Here are a few sites that you can use as resources to plan your visit or to see other ways you can help with the recovery.
https://www.vinow.com/recovery/
https://www.usvirecovery.org/
https://usviupdate.com/
The teams at TecFac and North American Properties thank you in advance for any aid you can provide. The world is a better place when we can come together for each other.