An elderly lady limped up to the Little League Ballpark on Pond Island. She said, “Please, can I have a pair of shoes?” She was pointing to the field where two containers of relief supplies were being unloaded by the three Rotary Clubs of St. Maarten. She pointed at her shoe. The strap was broken. She could not walk without the shoe falling off. She was given a chair in the shade and asked what size she needed. Out went the cry, “We need a ladies size seven!”
Quickly, three different kinds of shoes were found and brought to the lady. She tried each one on. She sat in the chair and looked down at the shoes. “I don’t know which one I like better.” She was told to take all three. She beamed and said, “God bless you.” She put the pair of flats on. Scooped up her spare pairs and quietly asked, “Can I get a pair of size 10 for my husband? He could not come as he has no shoes.” A few minutes later, she left the ballpark smiling. The husband was a bit less fortunate. Only two pairs of shoes were found for him.
The scene was repeated over and over all day as people who lost so much due to the passing of Hurricane Irma found some of the items they needed: Wheel chairs, boxes of food, clothes, medical supplies, sports equipment, school desks and chairs were just some of the items crammed into a 40-foot container and shipped to St. Maarten by the Rotary Clubs of Niagara.
“Helping is fun,” said a five-year-old boy who had just delivered a bag of toiletries to a family living in temporary shelters at Festival Village. Their home, like so many others, was destroyed by Hurricane Irma. The little boy was just one of the Little Leaguers who was on the field when the Rotary container was opened. He and the others all wanted to be part of the relief effort.
The supplies were donated at the urging of Rotarian Lezlie Murch, who runs a tennis academy in Ontario, Canada. She and her husband Bob are long-time visitors to The Friendly Island and spend a lot of time enjoying the beaches and food on St. Maarten. When Murch heard how devastated the island was by the category 5 storm, she mobilized the Rotary Clubs up north to help her home-away-from-home in the Caribbean.
The Rotary Club of St. Catharine’s in collaboration with Rotary District 7090, which covers Southern Ontario and Western New York, reached out to their communities in order to assist in the rebuilding of St. Maarten. The Canadians had asked for input from the local St. Maarten clubs as to what was needed. They raised money and purchased lots of things like microwaves, coffee pots and school supplies and many things like new shoes were donated.
Murch: “We raised $18,000 and sent 20,000 pounds of goods, which comprised 132 boxes of medical supplies, donated by Not Just Tourists; 18 wheelchairs, canes, walkers, commodes, 300 pairs of eyeglasses, seven pallets of linens and layettes, donated by Warehouse of Hope; two pallets of brand new sandals, donated by VDC Canada; five barrels of soup mix and five barrels of dried fruit snacks, donated by Ontario Christian Gleaners; toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash, donated by Harbourside Dental, Zammit Orthodontics and Port Dental; school supplies, binders, clothing and shoes, donated by Durward Jones Barkwell and Company, Investors Group, and The Forty Public House, Grimsby; sports equipment, clothing and food, donated by Niagara Academy of Tennis, ACE Tennis, Burlington, Niagara Conservatory of Music, Wild Play Niagara Falls, Niagara Casino, and Jean Sauve School; assistance with purchases like school supplies, microwaves, hot plates, bins, coolers, and books, from local businesses including Staples, Chapters, and Canadian Tire 4th Avenue; and many donations of food, clothing, shoes, toiletries and school supplies from hundreds of individuals!”
A list of the supplies was e-mailed to the local Rotary Clubs as the container left Canada. The local clubs divided up the goods and planned the distribution.
Rotary St. Maarten, Rotary Mid Isle and Rotary Sunrise opened the container and started sorting the items into piles for the groups that had requested specially needed items. Anjali Manek from Mid Isle coordinated between the clubs and got the youth wings of the organizations involved, too.
Bags of soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, razors, etc., were delivered to the families staying in the Festival Village. Truckloads of supplies were sent around the island to the Hospital, Sister Marie Laurence School, I Can Foundation, various schools and day care centres and more.
“It is really nice to see so many people, especially the younger ones, working together,” said Manek, who was one of the Rotarians that found shoes for the lady. “We helped a lot of people today.”
Later in the afternoon, after everything that had been earmarked for specific groups was distributed, the remaining boxes were opened and shared among those in need. “I think what was really cool was how one individual’s contribution could make such a difference to so many and that ‘doing good in the world’ makes one ‘feel’ so good and gives hope to many,” said Murch.
“Everything flowed so nicely on our end with the unloading and distributing of the items to those places in need. I really enjoyed the three Dutch side clubs working so well with each other to really make a difference,” said John Caputo, President of Rotary St. Maarten.
During the sorting and distribution of the relief supplies, Caputo went live on Facebook to let the community know supplies were available. Those who were in need came down and those with extra showed up to donate to the cause. One lady, who had dropped off boxes of diapers, said, “I did not realize whole families were living in the village. It must be hard, particularly for the lady with the newborn baby.”
It took nearly a week to distribute all the items sent from Canada; but the container is empty and there are a lot of smiling faces!
