Beyond the surface

Four months after hurricane Maria hit Dominica...

To the casual observer it may seem that life has gone back to normal. Stores in town are bustling with business, people have gone back out to work, children are going to school, houses are being repaired, families who sent children abroad in the aftermath of the hurricane have been reunited, power is being restored.

Children at a pre-school, most in uniform

But when you look deeper beyond the surface you see the persons who are still unemployed and have no visible job opportunities, those who are living off their savings and just barely making ends meet, those who continue to depend on donations in order to eat, those who are still living in darkness and have no idea how much longer it will be before power is restored, those whose jobs pay so little that it would take them years to save up enough money to be able to afford the prices of roofing materials, those who have the means to purchase materials to repair their homes but simply can't because the demand is so high that as soon as the hardwares are stocked the items are sold out, those who are still living in shelters because they have no where else to go, those who are living in other people's houses and are getting frustrated because they are wearing out their welcome.

Some have to face the reality of having to brave the rainy
under a tarpaulin

In this phase of the recovery process, ITNAC has committed to providing vulnerable families with building material to either repair or construct their own homes. Through the partnership of local donors and overseas organizations such as Storyline, we have been able to assist many persons with building material which they otherwise would not have been able to afford. This process has not been without its challenges, from having to go on  the port ourselves to locate materials we have shipped up, to having to deal with persons who have the keys for where our items were stored but are not willing to open it for us until they get a phone call from their boss, but in spite of the obstacles we continue to persevere, because we see the difference it makes when a family receives sufficient galvanize to cover their house. Some were moved to tears while expressing gratitude for the assistance they received, because it renewed their hope that they would be able to rebuild again.

Augustina, a 68-year old widow, lending
a helping hand while receiving galvanize
to repair her roof.

On this particular trip, I was the only ITNAC representative from Trinidad. People were concerned about me staying by myself at the huge parish hall which serves as our base, but the children from the shelter downstairs came up to lime and play games regularly so I was not alone. When the government moved them out to their new accommodation two nights before I left, I was happy for them, but I will miss seeing them downstairs whenever next I return to Dominica.

Bible lesson about not following the wrong examples but
standing for righteousness like the 3 Hebrew boys

Another potential issue was transportation. Our regular driver migrated to Tobago with his wife in early January, so although we had a dedicated bus, we didn't have a dedicated driver. The person who was supposed to take over as driver was busy with starting up his new business, so although he was able to help with the airport trips, I could not depend on him for the day to day running around. I mostly relied on walking and public transportation, but every single time I needed a direct ride, God provided; either through a friend who had been asked beforehand, or via someone I knew who was going in the same direction at the same time I needed a ride. What was also fantastic was that power was restored to parish hall just 5 days before I arrived so I did not have to deal with generator and diesel drama but had power straight through!

Team from Storyline distributing solar lamps to families
who will likely not have power for a long time to come

The last potential issue was the provision of manpower. During this trip, we were expecting to receive construction material which was shipped up from Trinidad. I had no idea how we were going to load up the transport, who was going to provide the transport, and who was going to offload the materials when we got to our destination. JJ had provided transportation for Augustina's galvanize sheets free of charge, so I hired him to move our materials from Portsmouth to Roseau, which was one hour away. We experienced a lot of delays, which resulted in him losing a job for later on in the day. Nevertheless, he worked tirelessly to load all the materials onto the truck, and helped with the offloading at Roseau as well. God also provided Antoine to help with offloading almost 200 cases of water, and using his truck with a crane to offload the construction supplies.

They worked until long after it got dark

While we were delayed, I was able to have a good conversation with JJ. He shared of his experience with hurricane Maria, how when he heard about it, he just had a feeling that it was not going to be like all the other hurricane warnings which were false alarms. Knowing that his wooden house was vulnerable, he packed up his daughter with a suitcase and 2 bags of her belongings and sent her to her grandmother's house, which was a concrete structure. He also moved out all his appliances to his sister's concrete house. While he was doing this, his neighbours were watching him and laughing at him, telling him that he was wasting his time. During the night, his house was flattened, along with some of theirs, and the next morning no one was laughing. I told him it reminded me of the second coming of Jesus, when people will not heed the warnings, and would be caught by surprise when He does return because they will not be prepared. I also used the opportunity to encourage him to get his life in order.

This looks like a field of dry grass but it is
actually a mountain of bare trees

At ITNAC one of our modus operandi is to partner with local initiatives: indigenous ministries that are already reaching out and making an impact in communities. We do not seek to reinvent the wheel, but find ways to support venues which center around outreach. One such ministry is called Feed My Sheep, where the focus is not just on feeding the body, but on feeding the spirit man. Deborah Augustine heads this ministry in the rural village of Calibishie, where she oversees organic gardens managed by local farmers. The produce from this garden is then used to feed those who are still recovering from the losses suffered by hurricane Maria. The excess is sold in the markets, and the profits are invested back into the project. Apart from providing employment for farmers, this ministry also ensures that persons are fed with healthy alternatives to canned food. Recently, some women who are beneficiaries of the program expressed an interest in knowing more about the Bible, so Deborah is planning to start a weekly Bible Study with them, once she gets some bibles, since most persons lost their bibles in the storm.

Deborah reaping a harvest of cucumbers in her garden

Saints Administering for Life Transformation (SALT) is a group of young persons who desire to impact their community outside of the four walls of the church. On Christmas Day, they began an outreach in the capital of Roseau to feed the paros (patois for vagrants). They continued doing this every two weeks, supported by donations from friends and well wishers, but also from their own pockets if needed. Instead of just handing persons a box a food, they find out their real names, and listen to their stories. Each week a different verse is chosen and stuck on the lid of the boxes. The group members read the verse and explains what it means. One person that we met told us that he still had the cover with the verse from the last time. Another one who received a meal for the first time from the group started looking for the verse immediately - she had been told about these meals not just for the belly, but for the soul. SALT was very grateful for our donation of bottled water, so they could provide a drink along with the meal.

The group is now recognized whenever they come into town

Networking is another aspect of our operations in ITNAC - linking those with resources with persons in need of them. While collecting bottled water for her elderly mother, Ellena met the members of SALT and shared with them her efforts to feed and clothe the homeless. She had an idea of offering the services of barbers and hair stylists to transform the outside after having brought change to the inside, something that SALT was already talking about implementing in their next phase of outreach. Another partner who was organising persons to help provide furniture for persons who had recently been allocated replacement housing expressed a need for paint for the homes, and we were able to put her in touch with someone whose husband works in a paint shop. A visiting minister who was aware of the work of ITNAC in Dominica had a financial contribution that he was willing to donate to the various projects that we were partnering with.

So grateful for my friend who took
me for a dip in the Emerald Pool!

One of the joys of being on the ground is being able to offer hope to individuals that we meet. One elderly gentleman had been spending money on buying batteries to provide light for his home, and all his efforts at obtaining a solar light from the big NGOs proved futile. The day before he met us he had said to God that he was not fighting up anymore, maybe God had a light somewhere already for him. When he shared his story, we were very happy to be the answer to his prayer, since there was one more solar light remaining! A leader who was responsible for the well-being of persons displaced by hurricane Maria was feeling burdened by his responsibilities; when we prayed for him, he said we addressed every single issue that he was facing and he felt so much lighter. 

Children from the shelter downstairs
helping carry up my groceries

In spite of all the loss suffered, one of my friends was thankful for hurricane Maria. She said, "Doesn't the Bible say to give thanks in everything? Well I am thankful for Maria. We had become too comfortable... when all those comforts were stripped away, we were forced to consider what we were really made of. Is our faith strong enough to take us through this trial?"

As we go about our regular lives, let us remember to pray for:

- Those walking around with smiles on their faces but still have pain buried deep within

- Those who will be without power until at least 2019

- Those who are unemployed, that they would find other sources of generating income

- Those who are frustrated with their current living situations, especially because they see no way out in the near future

- Those in need of shelter, that they would find permanent solutions before the official start of the rainy season in June

- Children who have dropped out of school due to family hardships resulting from hurricane Maria

- Intervention to stem the landslides resulting from continuous rainfall, even though it is the dry season

- Integrity and equity in distribution of grants by the "powers that be"

- All construction materials which are shipped up with be handed over to their rightful owners

- Businessmen would be fair in their pricing methods and would not take advantage of consumers by engaging in price gouging

Dominica has some of the most stunning sunsets

A special thank you to all who have continued to support this mission to Dominica. Know that we could not do it without your partnership!