Caribbean donates to Iris relief

Hurricane Iris may be four months old, but that doesn’t mean relief efforts have stopped pouring in. Both Vincentian Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington handed over donations to Prime Minister Said Musa today. Some twenty-eight thousand Vincentian students from primary and secondary schools contributed to the cause.

Ralph Gonsalves, St. Vincent & the Grenadines P.M.

“I do have two cheques here, one from the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the sum I wouldn’t mention. But the other one is in an odd number: nine thousand, nine hundred and fifty-nine dollars and sixty-five cents U.S. The children brought their one dollar and fifty cents to the school, it’s a classic case of the widows mite. And I’d like to make a presentation to my brother of both cheques.

Edwin Carrington, CARICOM Secretary General

“We of the secretariat, are pleased to make our widows mite available for our brothers and sisters of Belize, who have suffered so much at the hand of nature. We want you to know that we just don’t preach integration; we also try to live it. And therefore, we’ve brought our widows mite. I won’t tell the figure, but we bring it with a full heart to our brothers and sisters of Belize.”

Prime Minister Gonsalves and Prime Minister Musa have been friends for many years. In September the Vincentian was a guest of honour at our independence celebrations.