What a day! I told you the other day that we were waiting on the resolution of a few issues before we could start distribution. Well, one of the issues was whether we were going to receive another donation from Food for the Poor. Well, Tuesday we received 500 sheets of 6 foot zinc and 100 2x4x12 pieces of treated lumber! Food for the Poor is an amazing organization. There is no way we could ever thank them enough for their shipment of donations and the speed in which they operate.

The other issue was we were waiting to see if we could get private donations for certain infrastruture issues. The first is an important one to all of us in Treasure Beach, and that is keeping the ambulance running. Thanks to the continued generosity of the ISEC (International Society for Emergency Care) or better known locally as 'the doctors from New York' and all of their fund raising efforts, that need has been satisfied for the immediate future. In addition, thanks to very generous villa owners (of whom will be named later when all details are ironed out) and an extremely generous donation from The Treasure Beach Women's Group (considering their personal loss), the lights for the fishing beaches will be replaced! What all this means is more of your donation dollars could go directly to the first three mandates of the relief committee of 1. Get the fishermen back fishing, 2. Get the farmers back farming, 3. Construction.

Please remember that 100 fishermen have already received a roll of wire each thanks, once again, to The Food For The Poor. We have spent $100,000 JA or $1,666 US in purchasing rope and cork which is also needed for setting the pots. This has not been delivered yet, but we hope to recieve shipment soon, and of course, that will be distributed. $435 US was also spent on the trucking fees for the Food for the Poor supplies to reach Treasure Beach.

The last week of our meetings have largely been spent identifying the 30 "most needed" in the community which includes Ft. Charles, Billys Bay, Bluntuss, Lewistown, Frenchman's Bay, Calabash Bay, Great Bay, and one extreme case at Crossroads. The criteria for this was not only what someone had lost, but how many dependents they had, their age, income, availability of outside sources, and if they needed immediate shelter. Although you will always have someone not happy with the choices made, I would like to say right now, that this was the hardest part for all of us. None of these names were choosen easily and, unfortunately, we were not able to help everyone. But, we feel that good decisions were made and we plowed on with the daunting task at hand.

I am so very happy to report that thanks to the donation from Food for the Poor, we were able to pass out 500 sheets of 6 ft. zinc and 100 2x4x12 pieces of treated lumber today. And thanks to all of you generous donors to Treasure Beach Foundation, Breds-Treasure Beach Foundation, and TB.Net we were able to pass out $4,933 US worth of coupons for one of three local hardware stores today!!! The way the coupon works is, the recipient was given the choice of Gen R Us, Levy or Parchment hardware stores (all of which agreeded to participate in this program and give discounts to coupon bearers). The recipient must redeem the coupon by November 15 and no cash will be given back to the coupon bearer. They must use the worth of the coupon at the hardware store. This will ensure that your donations are being utilized, specifically, for the reconstruction of homes. We also gave 100 chicks to a farmer who had lost all his chicks in the flooding - value $58 US.

This is just the first round. Tomorrow, the relief committee will meet again to discuss dispursement for the second round. In addition, plans are underway for relief to the farmers and more relief to the fishermen. I will inform you of these plans when they come to fruition.

What a day!! I would like to say special thanks to the relief committee for doing all the background work in seeking out the most needy. One of which included a woman sleeping in a car with her 2 month old baby since the hurricane.

I would also like to thank Omar Ebanks for volunteering to help deliver the zinc today and thanks to Omar's father, Cardel Ebanks, for loaning us his van for the day!



Karen Kennedy and Cookie Kinkead made sure all supplies for Billy's Bay, Ft. Charles, and Great Bay respectively were delivered, especially those hip chicks!

And Dennis Abrahams, you are one stand-up guy! Dennis was with me from 11 to 4 and I think we handled most every piece of those 500 sheets of zinc and the 100 pieces of wood at least once, and we have the cuts on our hands to prove it!

I was not able to take too many photos today because we were pretty busy, but allow me to share a few of the smiling faces I was so blessed to witness.









Tojo, Dennis and I were able to deliver a few zinc last night, so the two handsome men you see are Tojo (Oral Hill) and Dennis Abrahams.

At times like this, I wish I was a professional writer so I could better express the emotions and thankfulness that fill my heart each time I think of how all of you donated so generously for the Ivan Relief Fund. Overwhelmed is a word I have used in the past, but I have to use it again. I need to express to you how much your donations have been appreciated and how hard we are working to make sure every dollar is wisely spent. The Treasure Beach Foundation, Breds and TB.Net are continuing to work together as a single entity to ensure this happens. May each of you who donated to any of the organizations listed receive 10 fold the blessings back which you are bestowing on our humble community.

Jah will guide!

Congratulations to all of you for this amazing work
xxx de Paris Brigitte

Rebecca you ROCK

I can only pray that Treasure Beach people will reunite, like we use to be sharing, loving caring for each other. Rebecca you will never be able to make everyone believe everything was shared fairly, as long as everyone can sleep when night comes, and within themselves they know they gave to the most needy thats what matters.

This article brought tears to my eyes, I hope those of us who are not donating to the fund will at least donate to their family members that are in dire need.

Mother Teresa ""It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing

One item I forgot to mention above was the purchasing of $100,000 JA or $1,666 US of food which was distributed within the community the first week after the hurricane.

Great, great news, Rebecca. Tnanks to everyone...Omar and father Cardel, Dennis, Tojo (looking very kris in that hat!), Karen, Cookie, and everyone I don't know about who helped out.

And of course our tireless reporter/relief worker/driver/photographer Rebecca. Thanks, partner.

We'll keep doing our part up here so you all can get back on your feet down there.

Hey everybody! You've seen the good things the money that's been donated is being used for. But like Rebecca says, there's still much more needed. Here's your chance to be part of the relief effort!

I feel compelled to say something else on behalf of Rebecca.

She has been a part of the Treasure Beach community for more than a decade. From the moment she could walk out of her house after Ivan, she has selflessly given of herself. Yes, I have attended each daily meeting since I arrived here on September 28; however, I'll be back in the U.S. on October 14, and Rebecca will still be here -- assisting people from dawn to dusk.

All of us should be immeasurebly grateful to this generous, caring, compassionate (and organized) lady. She is most definitely my hero.

Thanks to all of you for your very kind words. Guess I got you all snowballed!

But seriously, this whole relief effort has been such a wonderful team effort. What is that saying about the chain is only as strong as the weakest link? Well, there have been no weak links in this project.

From the very beginning, our illustrious webmaster, Eric made the donation information available and set up the Pay Pal system, providing information for Breds, TB Foundation, ISEC, etc. giving all you generous folks out there a place to donate. Then we started receiving the donations which was what enabled us to start making plans and allowed us the need for a relief committee!

The first time Jason Henzell and I saw each other after the hurricane, we tearfully embraced, looked at each other and made a committment then and there that we would pool our resources and work together to help rebuild the community we love.

The first meeting of the 'relief committe' consisted of Jason and I talking and then asking Dennis and Tojo (who were at Jakes cleaning up debri) to join us. From there people have volunteered and been asked to join in to make up the team we have today.

When Karen Kennedy came down representing the Treasure Beach Foundation, attended her first meeting and full out gave her support to the decisions the committee had made, it gave us all a boost of energy and enthusiasm which was greatly needed at that time. You are one tough cookie Ms. Kennedy. Nuff respect due!

Another member of this team who has been tireless, attending every single meeting, being present at all the distributions, visiting people and then filling out the needs assesment forms, and coordinating all the relief efforts for the fishermen is Dennis Abrahams. I have always had great respect for Dennis, but that has now grown 10 fold.

Maureen Powell, Norma Moxam, Sheila Hamilton, Sandy Tatum, Cookie Kincead, Celeste Anderson (also representing the TB Women's Group), Patty Shannon (who is keeping a great data base in order for us), Joe Shannon, and Beth Decelles all gave numerous hours and great opinions towards the relief effort. Joe and I just a little while ago were commenting on how much has been accomplished in such a short amount of time thanks to this great team.

So although I appreciate your comments and I hope to continue to live up to this responsibility, there is no way I could do this alone and I wholeheartedly thank the entire chain of folks, with no weak links in it's midst, who love this community as I do.

thanks rebecca for your careing for the community i love dearly hope to meet you when I am out there from the 13 oct may GOD reward richly from Aaron

Rebecca,

You are the gem of Treasure Beach.....there is no doubt in my mind.

Thank you all for your votes of confidence, but please keep in mind many facets make up a beautiful gem. My name is up here because of this site, but it is the whole team working together that has made this progess possible. My personal vote for the gem of TB is Dennis Abrahams. You know the quiet person in the background that always gets things done? Well, that is Dennis!

Thanks to Patty Shannon (Peace Corp) for giving up your Sunday to update our data base files!

And now for a further update . . . It is with great pleasure that I can annouce that yesterday we started distributing a total of 85 coupons with a total value of $11,932 US or $715,920 JA to 85 persons. The distribution should be completed by tomorrow. Again, these coupons can be redeemed at one of three hardware stores in the area. This should go a long way in giving people shelter.

Thanks so very much to all of you donors out there!!!! Your hard earned and generously donated funds are working!!!!!!

Below are, once again, some photos of a few of the happy recipients. You will see Dennis Abrahams and Norma Moxam in some of these since they were with me for the distribution yesterday.

















But the best news is . . . thanks to your generosity . . . there is more to come!!!

Jah Bless!

Claude and Eva, send all our love and best wishes to all the people of our lovely Parish ST:BEST.
You are all in our daily prayers,and by working togather we can re-built a better more caring society,because this disaster have pull the people of Jamaica to gather.
Rebecca one love and God bless you for all your work.
CLAUDE PARCHMENT.

Thank you so much Rebecca, Dennis, Tojo and the entire "Relief Team" for being the glue of this Treasured community. It is really great to see smiling faces of those who have been through so much. It makes my heart full to know that there is still love, care, dedication and genuine concern for others still in this world.

My hats off to you all. Reading this makes my day.

One Love to You All!!

Jah Bless!!

Rebecca I am curious to find out the name of the man in the picture below Miss Pt.

The following are a few more photos of happy recipients.

Miss Julia, for 86 years old is quite a powerhouse! She had me totally enamored in minutes!



And Des, well he always has me laughing. I won't even tell you what he was whispering to me while this photo was taken to make me laugh so hard.



Thanks again to every donor for putting so many smiles on so many faces. In addition to the construction items being purchased at the hardware stores with the coupons, there are matresses, stoves, etc. all of which was damaged and destroyed in the hurricane.

The man in the photo below Miss PT is Derek Hamilton.

Thanks Rebecca I thought it was someone else.

Keep up the great work

More photos of happy recipients of building supply coupons ...



This is Lyloyd Nembhard arriving home from Black River Hospital -- where he spent more than two weeks being treated for pnemonia after sleeping in his home with no roof. One of his sons applied for assistance on his behalf, and we take our hats off to that resourceful young man. We wish Mr. Nembhard a speedy recovery. And, we wish to thank the donors for helping to get a roof over him and his five children.



And, meet Lynette Banton, another building supplies coupon recipient. She lives in a one-room home with her 16 year-old son who's in high school at Newell. Their entire roof was blown off by Ivan; she attempted to reconstruct it with recovered zinc, but it was inadequate for protection from the elements. (The amazing smile on this lady's face after learning she'd have a non-leaking roof says it all.)

Even chickens can make a big difference in someone's life -- especially when raising them provides support to the family.

Lineve Nembhard Ritchie is the mother of six. Her eldest daughter is in her final year at Hampton -- on a full scholarship. The family was devastated after Ivan because 125 of their flock of 150 chickens perished.



Here's Ms. Ritchie, ecstatic over receiving 125 healthy baby chicks.

hehehe they're so cute!!!!!

A two-month-old baby and three other children were left exposed to the elements when Carlette Dennis-Levy's whole roof blew off. Even a part of her walls were gone from Ivan. And, her bed and furniture were wet and damaged.

To escape this horror, she and her children often slept in an automobile.

However, due to the kindness of caring strangers, Ms. Dennis-Levy has been able to move back into her own home.



One of the more desparate cases we saw, Ms. Dennis Levy was given zinc, rafters, and a coupon for a local hardware store so she could purchase more building supplies.

I received a call from Sandy Tatum this morning asking if I could come to Great Bay with my camera. Ralph Smith, better known as Babu, was getting his roof replaced! Babu sat and 'supervised' every aspect of the roofing job down to each nail being hammered in.

Thanks to the donation from Food for the Poor in affiliation with Breds, Babu got his zinc and lumber. Thanks to your donations, Babu got the rest of the material and labor costs to replace his roof.



If there was any doubt in your mind that your donations have not been appreciated, then just look into this wonderful man's eyes and you will understand.



Babu should be able to move back into his house by Saturday.

Thank you

Greetings to everyone in St. Elizabeth's Parrish -My name is Darlynne Pecorelli and I have visited a couple times over the past five years. You all are wonderful and when Andy called us and told us how serious the situation was for you down there, we immediatly sent what we could. But I didn't think it was enough, so I've organized two fundraisers for October 26 & 27, 2004.

Below is a press release that has been sent out across South Carolina and parts of Georgia. We have also created a webpage for the event. Go to the link and check it out.

http://www.opencreativegroup.com/relief/


All money that is raised will be split between Treasure Beach Foundation (Karen Kennedy and Rebecca) and a mission group in Haiti.

I hope it helps!

Peace and love - Darlynne

Copy of Press Release:
Positive Vibrations Soul Shake Down Party
Two reggae infused parties to raise funds for Haiti and Jamaica.

West Ashley and Mount Pleasant, SC – October 2004 – Two local music venues will host hurricane relief parties in an effort to raise money for Haiti and Jamaica. The Pour House located at 1750 Savannah Hwy, will host the event on Tuesday, October 26, 2004. A Dough Re Me Pizzaria located at 1220 Ben Sawyer Blvd. will host it on Wednesday, October 27, 2004. Both nights will have bands playing from 5:30 pm – 12:00 am. The music will be provided by Da’ Gullah Rootz, Lance Starr and Ras Bonghi on Tuesday and on Wednesday night Ras Bonghi, Mystic Vibrations and Lance Starr. All the bands have donated their time for the cause. A suggested $5 donation at the door and both venues will offer food and drink specials and giveaways from local merchants throughout the night. Charleston’s own reggae ambassador, Mr. Osei Chandler, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary of his radio show, “Roots Musik Karama”, will emcee both evenings.

Two volunteers from Charleston have rallied in an effort to raise money and awareness for the islands that were devastated by Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne this past September. Darlynne Pecorelli has contacts on the south side of Jamaica and received a call from a friend two days after Ivan pounded them for 36 hours. Raymond Nembhard called to say, “Everyone you know made it OK but everything is all mashed up! Things are pretty bad and we have no water or electricity. People brought in generators and are charging people JA$100 (US$1.75) just to charge their cell phones.” Darlynne and some friends sent money down to Jamaica but wanted to do more. Karen Maldovan has volunteered in Haiti several times over the past few years and has a love for the island and it’s people. She wanted to do something for them and when she heard about Darlynne’s efforts to raise money for Jamaica, she volunteered and the two decided to split the proceeds between the two islands. They have requested help from all their contacts and jabari A, who hosts the music shows, “Kinky Reggae” on 96 WAVE and “Reggae Experience” on Star 99.7 is helping spread the word on his shows on Sunday nights.

For more information on how to help, visit:

Treasurebeach.net for Jamaica or Haitiansupportproject.org for Haiti

# # #

We are all so excited about the two parties you're holding to benefit people both in Jamaica and Haiti. It's really wonderful of you to be doing this.
*****************

Here's yet another happy recipient of a coupon for building materials.



Subrant James in Billy's Bay lost part of his roof from Hurricane Ivan. This coupon will help him get the materials he needs to fix up his roof.

We're up to more than $17,500 as of today.

The following people have shown great compassion by adding to the amount Treasure Beach Foundation has to distribute for Hurricane Ivan relief in Treasure Beach.

* Sharon and Shane Farr
* Terry Gnazzo (and friends)
* Kitty and Gary MacFadden
* Jay and Sylvia Rogers

Thanks to all of you. We are so very grateful for your assistance.

A wonderful letter from a woman who does not want her name used --

"Enclosed is a check for hurricane relief. I made a small donation earlier, in full confidence that it would be needed and well used. And, I have been VERY impressed with the Relief Committee's efforts. So, I have dug deeper to donate again."

This marvelous lady enclosed a check for $300.

Her contribution has helped push our donations to above $17,800.

All members of the Relief Committee have been doing their utmost to help as many very deserving people as possible. This letter is just one more acknowledgement of the dedication of all the people on the Committee. My hat is off to each and every one of you!

Thank you to the anonymous donor who took the time to write this letter.