Hurricane Relief: CAN Med Students

Dulani Samarappuli is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Dear friends and families,

American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine is located in the island of St. Maarten where a blend of Canadian, American and International students studied in pursuit of a Medical Degree.

On Tuesday, September 05, the island of St. Maarten was devastated by hurricane Irma - a Category 5 hurricane with record breaking winds, proving to be the most powerful hurricane to pass the Atlantic. Witnessing a hurricane like Irma was traumatic itself for us students, however the hardships that follow with the aftermath to students’ homes on the island being completely obliterated, resulting in millions of dollars of damage has been extremely difficult.

Many of our students fled to the hurricane shelter on campus on Tuesday morning with only essential supplies leaving all other items behind at home. There was little time for preparation to secure their things so most of our students lost all belongings to floods or heavy winds that brought their homes down.

For those students who were lucky enough to flee the island hours before the hurricane hit, did so by paying thousands of dollars for last minute flights to various places that took them off the island to various locations including, Panama, Costa Rica, New York, Montreal, Houston, etc. From these places many canadians had to find their way home to Canada at an added expense. In addition to flight costs, these students also left behind all their belongings as many of them did not have the opportunity to pack or check luggage. A number of students left most of their items behind in shelters scattered at the last minute given an opportunity to get off the island for safety.

Canadian students bear the burden of high tuition in US dollars and the added expense of relocating to a remote island in the caribbean which many students are only able to afford with bank loans or other private loans with high interest rates. With the destruction of the hurricane added, many of us Canadian students are put at an even bigger burden in replacing our medical instruments, and other essentials. Therefore, we have resorted to seek help via a GoFundMe page, in the hopes that our friends and families will help us go forward with our medical education that we have fought so hard to pursue.

We have invested a great deal of our lives into our futures as doctors. Already, we’ve had to overcome numerous obstacles to reach where we are now; whether it was financial issues, academic goals, or leaving everything we have behind to come to St. Maarten and start our new life in medical school. We dream to help people in need one day, however, with this obstacle in the way, it may be impossible without some support. Please donate, as many of us are in need of your help!

Your funds will help all affected Canadian students replace their medical instruments, textbooks, damaged or loss of essential personal items and help with costs of travel.

Thank you,
hopeful future physicians.

Summit resort - home to many students: