From Strength to Strength, We Move Forward
Eight months later: An update on Yurumein Strong’s La Soufrière volcano disaster relief effort
Published on December 1, 2021
As a direct result of the generous donations from Vincentians near and far, Yurumein Strong continues to raise funds in support of the families most affected by the April 9 - 22, 2021, volcanic eruptions of La Soufrière in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Eight months later, the volcano hazard alert level is now yellow, many people have returned home, but the journey to rebuilding our northernmost communities has just begun.
A total of US$1067.43 has been used to support Vincentian families and communities
During the few months that have passed between the eruptions and now, the Collective‘s core team has worked day and night supporting access for countless people with basic necessities including food, water, toiletries, bedding and clothing. On August 9, 2021, the Yurumein Strong virtual storefront was launched to further facilitate these activities. During the first three months, the initiative raised a little over US$1000 which has since been used to provide aid through food, hygiene and school supplies for families primarily from the North Windward communities.
As we know, some families residing in the red zone, the northern part of mainland St. Vincent, lost everything. Homes and entire livelihoods were destroyed in the aftermath of the volcanic eruptions. As Yurumein Strong is a collective powered by Vincentians for Vincentians, the Collective kept its ear to the ground to identify the community members who were most in need of support. They found that the most affected villages were Owia, Fancy, Sandy Bay and Tourouma. Equipped with this knowledge and with the help of the schools’ principals, the Collective was able to identify and distribute school supplies for 20 youth in four schools operating in the red zone: the primary schools of Owia, Fancy and Tourouma, along with the Sandy Bay Secondary School.
In addition to our back-to-school initiative, we supplied 20 families in the villages of Owia, Fancy, Sandy Bay and Torouma with food supplies. The Tallawah Collective’s core team has done this work in addition to caring for personal and professional responsibilities, fueled only by the will to support fellow Vincentians.
An extra special thank you goes out to Marc Nash, Marsha-Ann Cadougan, Olvin Edwards, Peekskill Methodist Church, Remee Bailey, Solene Gwinner, Tariq Roberts, Tequila Ross and Vanessa Anoush-Demirciyan for their contributions and support in helping to facilitate The Tallawah Collective’s operations.
A bit about the Collective
Yurumein Strong - The Tallawah Collective, is a collaborative effort among Vincentian and Vincy adjacent creatives to support the ongoing La Soufrière volcano relief efforts. Conceptualized by Vincentian artists and Just Us League volunteers Karen De Freitas-Fraser and Storm Halbich in 2021, the Collective aims to use creativity for social good. Contributors include artists/designers Karen De Freitas-Fraser (Sokanaval), Odini Sutherland, Olivia ‘Olli’ Stephens, Storm Halbich (Storm Inc.) and Zen Punnett; photographers Jalani Morgan, Kamillo Edwards (KB Pixels), Nadia Huggins and Zaina Mahmoud; models Geniene Browne, Natasha Frankov, Shadyn McLean and Simone Allen; and videographer Sebastian Cyrus.
Every purchase made at the virtual Yurumein Strong storefront helped severely impacted families rebuild their homes, lives and communities. All profits were donated to local grassroots organizations working on the ground in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the wake of the April 2021 La Soufrière volcano eruptions.
