“The windows started breaking … the plywood started popping … the screaming of the wind. … We’ve never seen anything like this before,” Julie said. These are sounds she will never forget — hearing Hurricane Dorian tearing apart her home.
Hurricane Dorian completely decimated Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands, leaving thousands of people homeless. But your donation today will provide lifesaving essentials and will DOUBLE up to $85,000, thanks to a matching gift.
That means a $50 gift — which would usually provide food, clothing, and other lifesaving supplies to one person — will be multiplied to meet the most urgent needs of two individuals like Julie.
As Dorian raged over the Bahamas, Julie, her husband, and her 9-year-old son listened to trees crashing outside. Just then, Julie’s oldest daughter burst into the house, carrying her child and fighting against the wind.
She told her mother that the storm had ripped the top floor off of her building and that they all needed to get to a safer place. The family waited until the storm died down a bit then made a run for Julie’s mother’s house.
At first, they huddled in a closet to escape the exploding windows, but the rising water eventually forced them up into the attic of the home. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, but they were able to take refuge in the one portion of the space that wasn’t leaking water.
They balanced on the rafters and tried to get some sleep as Dorian crept onward at just a few miles an hour, causing as much destruction as possible before finally heading out to sea.
Afterward, Julie returned home to find it absolutely unsalvageable.
The second floor was completely gone, and the ground floor was soaked. It would be impossible to save it from the mold and mildew. “I’ll have to knock my whole house to the ground,” Julie said.
The recovery process is going to take years, but Julie is fighting the urge to become overwhelmed by taking it one step at a time.
Her first order of business is cleaning up as much as she can and searching for anything she can save from the rubble of her home. “The second thing will be trying to find a school to put my little boy in,” she said.
All of the schools on the island are closed because they have been damaged or destroyed.
Finding a new job will be one of the hardest steps. No businesses are hiring because few are left standing. “I used to work in a food truck,” Julie said, “but that food truck is smashed up.”
Without a job, Julie doesn’t know where her family’s next meal will come from. They have no money. No food. No extra clothing. And no way to keep going on their own.
But despite their hardships, they are thankful their family is together and alive. “We give thanks that we live,” she said, “because there are a lot of people who lost their lives.”
While they are grateful that they survived the storm, they still need supplies in order to keep going — supplies that you can help provide.
And when you give right now, your $50 will DOUBLE to provide essentials for TWO hurricane victims. You’ll help send items like food, clothing, generators, and other essentials to people who have been left with nothing.
Please give today and help a family like Julie’s.