Bahamas Hurricane Dorian, Saving Michael
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Many of you will know that a devastating Category 5 hurricane has passed over Man-O-War Cay in the Bahamas where Michael and his family live. We have been beside ourselves with worry, but heard from a friend that they were safe on Tuesday afternoon.
We are still anxiously waiting to hear from them. The pictures from the island are catastrophic and heart-breaking - worse than we ever imagined. Homes are completely inundated with water from the storm surge, many, many houses have lost their roofs, and boats have been destroyed.
We expect that Michael’s diving shop (www.divetimeabaco.com) will have been flattened, and his boats sunk. His family home is only 3m above sea level and the storm surge was reported to be between 5-7m, so we expect he has lost everything. The island will take years to re-build, as will the tourist industry that supports the livelihood of Michael and many others in the community.
We can’t get over there to help, but we can’t do nothing, so I've set up this page to help raise some funds for the huge amount of re-building that Michael and his family will have to do.
Those of you who know Michael will know that he is a passionate diver who is very connected with the close-knit community and conservation efforts. Michael has set up a successful dive business that employs local people. He carries out voluntary environmental work on the reefs and when there was a boat full of refugees sunk off the islands, Michael dived to rescue bodies- fending off the sharks.Originally from Cornwall, he moved out to the Bahamas twelve years ago with his wife, Amanda, to care for her mother. They settled there, started a diving business and had two beautiful children, Matilda (nine) and Imogen (nearly five). The island is their home, and it is devastating to think that within 48 hours, everything they have built up has been destroyed.
Thank you all for your help and support, words can’t describe how much we appreciate every last person who has donated, shared this link, or emailed with their kind words.
Love, David and the Sherratt family
Please watch this YouTube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SketZQ8qFTs&feature=youtu.be
We are still anxiously waiting to hear from them. The pictures from the island are catastrophic and heart-breaking - worse than we ever imagined. Homes are completely inundated with water from the storm surge, many, many houses have lost their roofs, and boats have been destroyed.
We expect that Michael’s diving shop (www.divetimeabaco.com) will have been flattened, and his boats sunk. His family home is only 3m above sea level and the storm surge was reported to be between 5-7m, so we expect he has lost everything. The island will take years to re-build, as will the tourist industry that supports the livelihood of Michael and many others in the community.
We can’t get over there to help, but we can’t do nothing, so I've set up this page to help raise some funds for the huge amount of re-building that Michael and his family will have to do.
Those of you who know Michael will know that he is a passionate diver who is very connected with the close-knit community and conservation efforts. Michael has set up a successful dive business that employs local people. He carries out voluntary environmental work on the reefs and when there was a boat full of refugees sunk off the islands, Michael dived to rescue bodies- fending off the sharks.Originally from Cornwall, he moved out to the Bahamas twelve years ago with his wife, Amanda, to care for her mother. They settled there, started a diving business and had two beautiful children, Matilda (nine) and Imogen (nearly five). The island is their home, and it is devastating to think that within 48 hours, everything they have built up has been destroyed.
Thank you all for your help and support, words can’t describe how much we appreciate every last person who has donated, shared this link, or emailed with their kind words.
Love, David and the Sherratt family
Please watch this YouTube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SketZQ8qFTs&feature=youtu.be
Organizer
David Sherratt
Organizer
