When Hurricane Maria hit the island of Dominica, Michael Day was concerned.
The Caribbean nation was once home to Day, a Marion County native, and director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Marion County School District.
Day served on the island as a member of the Peace Corps in the 1990s and has seen firsthand from friends the devastation. Now, he wants to help the people he once served.
“The village that was hit the hardest was the Kalinago Territory, an indigenous tribe, and that’s where I served,” he said. “I was assigned to Dominica and specifically, them. I was assigned to the chief and council and worked with the schools there. I did community development projects as a Peace Corps volunteer. I learned more from them than I taught them. They took me in as this green, right-out-of-college guy and helped me grow up a little bit.”
Day said the relationships formed, even more than two decades ago, are close.
“Somebody asked me the other day how these people were still my friends and family from so long ago,” he said. “Imagine if you used to live in another town – now imagine if you woke up the next morning and everyone was gone. Whether you were friends with them or not, or considered them family, you would be overwhelmed with concern. Everybody you know was gone. My initial fear was for loss of life. I don’t think people really realize what a Category 5 hurricane can do. This Cat 5 devastated not just Puerto Rico and Dominica, but everywhere in its path. Hurricane Irma had skirted them first and then Maria hit them dead on. The eye of the storm hit the Kaligano Territory – it centered it. The eye had in excess of 200 mph winds. Huge rainforest trees didn’t have the roots turned up, what it did was twisted them until they were just sticks sticking out of the ground. It twisted the trees off.”
Day said that much of Dominica was wiped off the map during Maria.
“The agriculture, the homes, schools – people’s jobs are gone,” he said. “There’s just debris. There’s nothing there, no structures, no foundations; nothing. You see slabs.”
Day said he was in communication with many of the people he knew from Dominica.
“It’s been 24 years,” he said. “It’s so ironic and so emotional for me because I started my career there. Now, I’m closing out my career helping them out again. I guess once you’re a Peace Corps volunteer, you’re always a Peace Corps volunteer. I talked to several people I knew right before the storm hit. About 10:30 that night, we lost connections and I’ve had no contact with them since.”
Day said he was able to reach people who had talked to some of the people he knew in the Kalinago Territory.
“It’s very limited,” he said. “The satellite towers are, of course, completely blown down. There is no electricity. It the region that I’m concerned about, there may be no electricity for several months. Right now, there are 16 nations and agencies trying to respond, but the relief need is so great – it’s overwhelming for all of them combined.”
Day said he had even reinstated his government clearance to be able to obtain communiqués coming out of Dominica.
“I talked to the State Department a couple of times,” he said.
Locally, Day said people could help with relief efforts.
“I’m asking for help for people I know our people don’t know,” he said. “Here in Marion County, when we had the Tornado, we had Columbian Strong during the process. We also experienced Hurricane Katrina. What we experienced is nothing compared to what these people are experiencing. Imagine no food, no water, no shelter and no way to get it. There are several volunteers and we’ve started a Fund Your Community Site, it’s much like a GoFundMe. The money will go directly to the villages to ensure that people who really need it get the services the money would provide. Some will be used for immediate relief – even nine days after, they had received no food or water. There are people who are starving. The U.S. Army had to medivac people out and the Venezuelan Army has been removing people from the island. The French, Dutch and the British heave been heavily involved; it’s a Commonwealth Country, so the Brits have been heavily involved. There is also an organization called the Caribbean Emergency Disaster Organization, much like our FEMA. I’ve been in communication with them about getting supplies to the villages. You can drive to the villages. The only way to get through there is by helicopter. We had a helicopter with food land in one of the villages in the Kaligano Territory. There are eight villages there, so really only one got supplies. The island has hundreds of thousands of people who are completely homeless. On the eastern coast, which was the part I lived in, you’re looking at 18,000 to 20,000 people. If you imagine that all of a sudden all of Columbia and Marion County had no food and water and no way to get it – no structures – not one building was left standing, that is what they are going through. We had a boat from one of the French islands arrive and drop supplies off. From land, air and sea, every way we can, we’re trying to get supplies to folks. It’s a desperate situation.”
According to Day, there are still people missing and the death toll may reach as high as 70.
“There were lots of rock slides and house that were built near river basins were flooded and washed away,” he said. “Even here, if a Cat 5 came through here, there are very few structures that would survive it. A lot of them had to grab their families and hold on to a boulder for dear life. Dominica is a beautiful country and its people are strong; they will overcome it. The Kaligano people have endured more than 500 years of occupation. They are strong people and they will survive.”
Day said the immediate need is food and supplies.
“In the intermediate time, we need to continue food and supplies because even for another few weeks there will be no mechanisms to deliver food,” he said. “It is much easier to collect money. If we were to collect water, the cost of shipping water is astronomical. But you can ship a case of water purification tablets for less. I want to be smart. People who have lived in a rainforest understand. Don’t go bananas and ship clothing and stuff. What do they need to survive? The biggest thing is clean water, which can be purchased on one of the French islands and shipped over. That’s why we’re seeking monetary donations for water and food. We’re leaving flour, rice and basic things that you would need.”
Day said efforts would soon turn to recovery, including planting crops.
“The soil is still very fertile,” he said. “It is a garden country. This will get normal life back together and getting school repairs made. It would begin to develop this normalcy piece. In the latter end of the intermediate phase, we want to begin to buy construction supplies. Those supplies would go toward schools first and then eventually to put a voucher system in place and everybody could apply for a voucher for construction supplies for their homes. It will put an accountability system in place. After that, it’s about sustainability. All of the water systems are destroyed. We’re going to have to rebuild a safe water system. After that, it will be about skills training and bringing in a team to help develop carpentry skills, electricians and those kinds of things. We want to teach them the skills to actually rebuild. That’s the long-term goal.”
Day said he hopes to visit Dominica and help with relief efforts.
“We’re committed for the long term,” he said. “Our group has a lot of retired Peace Corps volunteers and we’ve already raised more than $18,000 of a $25,000 goal.”
To contribute or find out more about the recovery program, visit https://www.youcaring.com/ourfriendsandlovedonesindominica-955254.
“These are wonderful people from the children to the elders,” he concluded. “They were so welcoming to us. We knew we had to help.”
Pictured Above: Michael Day served in the Peace Corps in Dominica. | Photo by Mark Rogers
