As I come up for air I wanted to say this –
I know there is still much work to be done but I need to say how humbled I am to be part of this community. What has been achieved over the last few days has been nothing short of incredible – I know there is still so much to do and so many who are hurting beyond belief but it shouldn’t stop each and every one of you from feeling very proud of what has been achieved. I have been blown away by the continuous 20 hours days everyone puts in, in hot and difficult conditions, often with a lack of water and food.
The Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation may have been incorporated by the GBPA but it is really the community’s foundation and I can’t thank enough those of you who have moved mountains to get us where we are today; you have set up a comprehensive logistic network, built a fully functioning website, engage countless donors and NGOs, worked with churches and local stakeholders to deliver aid to the most needy, cleared roads out east and provided the firsthand aid, day after day, to those who thought they had been forgotten and who have lost everything. I can’t name you all but you know who you are. THANK YOU.
People who come to our island for the first time might look around and see a fragile state but they would be wrong – beneath the turmoil is a hidden strength and a bond that will take more than a Hurricane to break. Stay strong everyone, we still have much work to do but we will get there!
— Rupert Hayward