Evacuees from Bahamas Need Help

Hi all Yall! I'm raising funds for Ms. Nicole Jean and her family to rebuild her home from flood and wind damage from Hurricane Dorian, the Category 5 storm that hit the Bahamas on Aug 31, 2019. Ms. Nicole Jean needs immediate help with resources and supplies to be able to move back into her home.

What happened and what lead to this fund raising campaign:

Ms. Nicole Jean and her family had to flee from the rising floodwaters coming into her home on August 31 in the height of the hurricane. They trudged through the floods with children on their shoulders until a rescue boat picked them up. They were then taken to a shelter that eventually got flooded out as well.

The family was displaced and not able to return to their homes. Because they had all the right documentation, they were able to evacuate to South Florida. I personally met Ms. Nicole after she arrived in Palm Beach County through an organization (the Bahamas Relief Fund) that was set up to provide resources to Bahamian evacuees. Through volunteering to find housing for evacuees, i became the main liaison and support for Ms. Nicole Jean and 10 of her family members who all had to evacuate from Freeport. In this process, I grew to respect Nicole Jean as the rock of her family, and know that I have made lifelong connections with the whole family!

In September, I had the opportunity to go over to her home city of Freeport, Bahamas and see the damage the floodwaters did to her home. Her house had been sealed up since she left it during the hurricane. The waters had receded but the mold and stench of the enclosed space caused an immediate gag response. Ms. Nicole remained strong in the face of the immediate shock of seeing her home and just began taking care of business with cleaning and removing all the destroyed personal items. I was fighting back the tears and could feel her heartbreak but it took until that evening for Ms. Nicole to feel the full impact of the trauma.

I know from witnessing the damage first hand that it will take a lot of work to make her home livable again but it is most possible to do so and will get done. Ms. Nicole does not have insurance so that is why we are looking for other avenues of aide and support.

Ms. Nicole has taken inventory on what it will take to get her house back into a condition in which she can live (all supplies needed are listed at end of this description). The initial and basic work of labor will be done by volunteers of the Bahamas Relief Cruise. If you have other ways to contribute and would like to donate supplies or volunteer manual labor skills ie), please contact me so we can get both building supplies and people over to Freeport to help with the construction.

It’s a long process to recovery- many places in the Bahamas still remain without electricity, potable water and employment because places of business were destroyed and haven’t come back.

As is the case for Ms. Nicole, she lost her means of income and will need help getting back on her feet financially and a mold free place to rent for next few months for her and her youngest daughter while the work is being done on her house.

Lastly, I’m aware many people I know hesitate to donate $ because they fear that their money will be swallowed up by a big non-profit and not given to the actual people that need it. This is an opportunity to get to know the individual you will be helping and get personal accountability of where your money goes. I trust this woman and have grown to love her and her family. I know that she has the power to navigate the greatest of storms. I’ve seen it! In these last couple of months of getting to know Nicole, I’ve been totally in awe of the way in which she has never gotten discouraged and has figured out how to access all the complicated systems in place to get the resources she has needed for herself and her extensive family. I’ve witnessed the way she has kept her family together and made sure everyone is taken care of while doing what’s necessary to survive this most difficult time together.

I ask you all with the hearts, money and ways to do so to please help us in bringing back one of her basic securities in life (her home) so Ms. Nicole and her family may not only survive but thrive!

Here’s a clear list of supplies needed at the moment:

Front windows- /2/ 74"w×52"L

Front bedroom /2/ 74"w×39"L

Back windows /4/ 37"w×39"L

Bedroom/1/ 53"1/2w×38"1/8 L

Bathroom /2/ 37"w×26"L

Sheetrock 20 PC

Joint compound 4 buckets

Mastic 2 buckets

Mastic type 4 rolls

Bedroom /1/ 53"w×39"L

Materials for the roof

16 pieces1"×8" : 16 ft for the Fisher board

24 sheets boxing plywood for the boxing

60 sheets 1/2" roofing plywood

50 bags shingles for the whole thing

18 rolls 30 paper felt

1 big box shingle nails 1" 1/2 length

30 pounds 8 penny head nails or 3" head