Support Dorla's Family After Hurricane Beryl

Hi there! I'm Melody Nixon, and my family and I are friends of Dorla McIntosh and the Cayenne family of Six Roads, Carriacou.

In early July the island of Carriacou was devastated by Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 hurricane, which destroyed 93% of the buildings on the island. We're raising funds for Dorla and her family so that they can begin to rebuild their family home on the island and support their local community.

Dorla grew up on Carriacou. Now Dorla and her 14-year-old son Ciprian live in New Jersey for most of the year, and return to Carriacou in the summer, when possible, where her extended family lives and shares a home. Her mother was in Grenada at the time the hurricane hit and was fortunately unharmed.

As Dorla says, "Being there means family time. Generations."

Image: Ciprian and Doreen in the family home in Six Roads.

The view from the family home verandah, showing the view of Six Roads and down to Hillsborough (the main town).

Dorla and Melody on Dorla's family land -- with fields ready to be sown.

Kiri and Sam with Dorla and Ciprian on the ferry from Carriacou to Grenada.

I have known Dorla since 2011 when I was hired as a Master's student to work for her in the Undergraduate Creative Writing office at Columbia University -- an office that was known for its warmth, good conversation, and cookies, all of which Dorla supplied. We quickly became close friends, connecting over the fact we both grew up on islands (Carriacou and Te Ika-a-Māui, the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand) and our friendship has endured over 1.5 decades, multiple countries, and life circumstances. Dorla is now my daughter Kiri's Godmother.

Sam, Kiri and I live in New Zealand, and we visit Dorla whenever we can, and were lucky enough to spend a summer with Dorla and her family on Carriacou two years ago. We witnessed first-hand what a thriving, healthy, and lush island it is -- and will return to being. We have shared some photos of our time on the island to give people a sense of what it is beyond the images of devastation. Most of the buildings pictured have been destroyed, and certainly all of the beach-side restaurants and bars which are such vibrant spots.

Paradise Beach Bar is no longer standing.

Sam in Hillsborough, the main town.

The aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Hillsborough.

We also share images of the family home in Six Roads and videos of the destruction in the aftermath of the hurricane.

View from the family home in Six Roads.

Dorla, Kiri, and Melody in the family home.

Ciprian and Sam relaxing in the family home.

The family home in the aftermath.

Damage throughout the house with all property damaged.

All funds raised will be distributed by Dorla to go towards rebuilding this family home and supporting the wider family and community in Six Roads as the community supports one another and promotes mutual aid rather than individual uplift. Immediate funds are needed for:

Dorla, her sister, and her son Ciprian are traveling back to Carriacou at the end of July to be with her mother and assess the damage and consider further ways to support. It will be possible to distribute any initial funds at that stage to provide some immediate relief.

Dorla has been reluctant for us to set this up on her behalf as she does not want to ask for funding, but with little or no governmental or international aid coming in, and no insurance on the island, she has come to agree with us that direct fundraising is necessary.

Please join us in supporting Dorla and her family to help their gorgeous home island to recover, to thrive, and to continue to be a place that supports the McIntosh and Cayenne families over generations.

A survey of the damage in the aftermath, with Six Roads visible to the right up the hill.