Three P.E.I. performers who moved to the province from The Bahamas are rehearsing for a weekend event while their hearts are heavy over news from home.
Reequal Smith, Dawn Ward and Joe Dames are preparing for the Roma Heritage Feast, set for Sunday, Sept. 15 at the Roma Three Rivers Heritage Site.
The three Prince Edward Island residents, members of Bahamian Melody, will perform a drama depicting the actual historical Afro-Carribean experience at the Roma concession from the 18th century. They will also perform some traditional songs.
“We will be celebrating Junkanoo, a masquerade that happens on Boxing Day…It’s always a joyous moment as we celebrate our Bahamian culture and represent what our ancestors did back in those days,” says Smith, who is studying dance at the Holland College School of Performing Arts.
But it's been hard for the performers to concentrate on their music while being distracted by scenes of destruction in The Bahamas, in the aftermath of Dorian.
Glued to the television and the radio, they are thinking of their friends and family who have been affected by the hurricane.
“Everything back home is in our heads. Knowing that we’re here in Canada, with power and shelter, and the people back home don’t, makes me sad,” says Dames.
“It’s something we just have to deal with and bear with. We just have to hope for the best and hope everybody gets through it. That’s all we can do.”
Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane, caused extensive and devastating damage across the islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas.
Meanwhile, aid workers in Dames, Ward and Smith's new home of P.E.I. are helping out.
“We have deployed four emergency response aid workers to The Bahamas," says Bill Lawlor, provincial director for New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. "These are trained personnel who are helping to assess the damage, with a special focus on the health facility. As well they’re assessing the condition of the water infrastructure.”
The Canadian Red Cross is also supporting response efforts with material items after receiving $500,000 from the Government of Canada.
“We are using that money to provide supplies, support and personnel.”
Want to support the relief effort to The Bahamas? Call 1-800-418-1111 or go to redcross.ca, specify Charlottetown, Hurricane Dorian relief.
Smith, who is from Nassau, says her home island is also doing its best to assist the neighbouring islands by getting people evacuated, finding shelter and helping children get back into schools.
“Everything is a work in progress, right now. A lot of churches are reaching out, opening their doors to young kids and their parents, to give them an education during the cleanup of Abaco and Freeport.”
Smith has some cousins with family in Abaco.
“It was really rough for them. But, thank God, they’re safe and sound," she said. "They’re living in Nassau, staying with friends and family. My cousins are helping them with clothing and other things as they try to get back on their feet.”
