WASHINGTON — At least five people have lost their lives in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian spent days over the island. Many people fear the number could continue to rise.
On Tuesday officials are starting to get a look at the devastation left behind and the amount of physical and emotional support that will be needed to rebuild the country.
Officials with the Bahamian Embassy in Washington D.C. said people are already stepping up to pitch in.
“Yesterday and today we’re getting requests from people in the area, Bahamians and non-Bahamians,” General Counsel for the Bahamian Embassy Theo Neilly said.
Neilly says they also released a supply list of items they deem critical to the people who are dealing with the aftermath of Dorian.
“The supply list is an urgent need,” Neilly said. “Medical supplies, equipment, water, things that you can’t live without.”
On top of physical needs, there’s also a need for doctors and nurses. Neilly said people have already reached out to let them know they want to go help.
“I wanted to reach out to the embassy to find out if there was any way that I could help or provide some mental health support or donation effort that was actually happening,” Licensed Clinical Psychologist Dr. Deondra Smith is one of the people who reached out to go help.
“I am a native of the Bahamas,” Smith said. “I was raised in Nassau and my family is back in the Bahamas now. My husband is from the Bahamas, so we have significant connections of course, so you can imagine the feeling of helplessness being away from home right now when such devastation is happening.”
Smith said she wants to go the Bahamas and offer emotional support, something she said people will need.
“If my presence just means sitting with someone and watching them cry and crying with them because of the loss of their homes or not being able to reach their family members than that’s emotional support and that’s essential,” Smith said.
Smith said the people in the Bahamas are strong and resilient, but she said that can only happen if everyone does their part.
Neilly urges those wanting to give monetarily to be cautious of who you are giving to. He said they are also looking for shipping companies to help transport the donated goods, something he said they are still working on figuring out.
“I don’t encourage go fund me accounts, although they might mean well, I don’t encourage it unless it’s a verified NGO, the Red Cross, Salvation Army or companies that can be verified,” Neilly said.
Smith just urges you to do something.
“I am pleading for everyone and anyone that can lend a hand,” Smith said. “No dollar is small enough, no canned good is little enough.”
If you are interested in donating supplies, please take the donations to the Bahamas Embassy Consular Annex, 1025 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 305, Washington D.C. 20005.
You can also donate to the country's disaster relief fund.
