Aid Vanessa, Seckie, and Emmanuel's Post-Hurricane Rebuild

Jenn McDonald is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Imagine, after 19 years of hard work and determination, the business you built from scratch, the only means of income for your family, is destroyed in a category 4 hurricane. Now also imagine taking cover in your home only to have the roof blown off and all of your belongings sucked into oblivion. Fast forward 8 months later and you are finally able to get a roof on your house but still don't have windows or running water. Meanwhile, the rainy season has set in. It is coming in sideways and along with it- mosquitos. The building you built for your business is long gone and there is only red tape and logistical nightmares in its place because you live on one of the most beautiful and remote islands in the Grenadines.

This is the reality for so many on Union Island (and adjacent islands) after a direct hit from Hurricane Beryl in July 2024. This is the specific reality of Antoinette "Vanessa" Pemberton, owner of Vanessa's Place in Chatham Bay. Once a popular spot for cruisers, now a pile of rubble.

Before Hurricane Beryl

After

While planning a recent vacation to the Grenadines, a sailing buddy of mine who has frequented the islands shared stories with me about how Vanessa and Seckie had helped him out with customs documentation and about wonderful times shared at her beach bar dancing and carrying on into the evening. He wasn't sure the state of her business but was adamant that we meet these wonderful people who truly need and deserve our tourism dollars more than most.

Meeting Vanessa, Seckie, and son Emmanuel ended up being the highlight of our entire trip. Thanks to our mutual friend connecting us on WhatsApp, they hosted us 12 hungry sailors. She cooked side dishes on a single burner camping stove in a tent; made music, lighting, and cocktails with a generator and power cords hung on a coconut tree; and grilled lobster and fish to perfection on a grate held up by rocks over coals under a scrap sail and lumber found on the beach. I cannot say enough about the unique blend of herbs and spices Seckie used to make the most mouthwatering seafood I have ever had. Nor can I say enough about the warm hospitality we felt from this entire family.

Seckie grilling under his makeshift tarp

As rustic as it gets, as delicious as I've had

The katabatic winds on the island wreak havoc

on their temporary setup

When the rain comes, the lights go

I also cannot say enough about how this entire experience touched my soul. These kind hearted, hard working people have had almost everything stripped away from them. I say almost because the one thing that Beryl seemed to not take from them is their will to live and to focus on the positive. And that energy is what motivates me to help them.

The supply chain system in the Grenadines is something the islanders understand more than we can and it does not make economical sense to ship specific items there from the states. That being said, it is also extremely difficult and expensive to get items from the larger island of St Vincent to Union. This fundraiser is focused on collecting enough money for both items and the logistics involved in actually getting them to Vanessa on Chatham Bay, Union Island.

What is needed? Obviously these tents and tarps are not going to withstand the elements for long. And a single burner stove and grate over rocks and coals are not going to feed the masses. And not all business can be set up via mutual friends over an app. They need a kitchen, they need a solid building structure, they need plumbing, they need a power boat to be competitive with other beach bars who are able to greet visitors and entice them to their establishments. But mostly, she says- she needs a kitchen. Can't feed folks without a working kitchen.

So, please consider donating to help this loving family whose government is overwhelmed by the hurricane disaster, whose home is barely livable, whose livelihood was literally blown away, yet whose hearts continue to love and whose smiles continue to shine. Under those smiles though is real suffering, real loss, real desperation to get any help they possibly can. I am personally asking you to be part of that help they so desperately need. No matter how big or small your donation is, it is more than nothing- which is what they are currently getting.

All proceeds will go directly to Vanessa to rebuild her beach bar, starting with the kitchen. Please share this GoFundMe with other people in your social network to help spread the word.