The St Lucia Red Cross will continue its operations of providing immediate relief to victims of Hurricane Tomas. Despite the challenge of accessibility caused by lack of suitable transportation and blocked roads, the organization has been able to respond in fifteen communities, reaching out to more than six thousand affected persons in these communities.
Maureen Winter is breathing a sigh of relief, thanks to the support of the St Lucia Red Cross. When news of the approach of the Tropical Tomas was announced, Mrs Winter began to feel a sense of concern for her ninety-eight (98) year old mother, who lived alone in Soufriere. According to Mrs Winter, “My mother lives alone, she has two helpers, one for the day and one for the night.
On Saturday October 30th, the island of St Lucia was impacted by Hurricane Tomas, a category one hurricane. The system which was upgraded from a tropical storm at 11:00am on Saturday, lashed the island with gusty winds, rain and sea surge.
Thirteen years ago Cyril Edward joined the St Lucia Red Cross. A prison officer by profession, Cyril remembers, what motivated him to become a member of the St Lucia Red Cross. According to Cyril, “About 1997, a colleague of mine lost her daughter. She had swallowed an ackee seed near the General Post Office, and nobody knew what to do to save her. I grew up all my life with ackees around me, I have a big tree by my home and after that happened I decided that nobody near me would die from an ackee seed choking them and I would not be able to help.”
