A KIND-hearted Leamington man has raced to the hurricane-ravaged island of Anguilla to help with the clean-up operation.
Matt Hyde spends three months each year in the British Virgin Islands after ‘falling in love’ with its people and sandy beaches when he first holidayed there.
Luckily he had left just before Hurricane Irma struck, but after hearing about the devastation caused, the former Radford Semele resident and his wife Charity jumped straight on a plane back to the Caribbean island.
The 44 year-old – who now works for a law firm in Philadelphia – is now calling on people to donate to help those living there.
The small island, which has some 14,000 residents, was directly hit by the Category Five hurricane – the highest level – and its 185mph winds.
Former Warwick School student Matt said: “Anguilla is totally, utterly decimated and needs help. They need fresh water, medicine and shelter and then help to rebuild.
“My wife and I spend as much time as we can in Anguilla and needed to help after Irma. We have teamed up with a group of five friends to offer support.
“We managed to organise an awful lot in the days after the hurricane. Charity and the group secured two jets, two cargo aircraft and a huge cargo ship to get the important supplies to the island.
“No one in this group is getting paid and all aircraft and the ship come with full crew and fuel for as long as we need them.
“While government aid operations are in place and moving forward, the reality is that our grassroot campaign can move much quicker to mobilize relief at this stage.”
Visit www.footstepsforafrica.com/donate-anguilla-irma-relief-efforts to donate.
