'Reggae and rum' for Hurricane Irma relief event

Friday 15 September 2017

Ping pong bar JB's is hosting a 'reggae and rum' night this evening in a bid to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Irma in the BVI.

Marcus Calvani, JB's co-owner, has promised to match donations made by guests and intends to ask the Bailiff's fund to match the entire amount raised.

Mr Calvani has cousins in the BVI who, like thousands others, were affected by Hurricane Irma. He decided to hold the event to celebrate Caribbean culture through its music and traditional drinks, whilst also raising funds for the victims.

The event Facebook page reads: "We have not only been personally terribly affected by hurricane Irma, we also know there are many companies on Jersey whom have BVI offices and have also been affected, so it's time to celebrate the amazing music, drink and food that the Caribbean has, have some fun and most importantly raise some money for those who need it on other British Islands right now."

Local musician DJ Nelson agreed to play seven hours straight of Reggae and Caribbean tunes to keep everybody dancing from 18:00 to 01:00. Special cocktails from the Caribbean will be on the menu, including Rum Punch and the famous Pusser's Painkiller. Mixing pineapple and orange juice, with coconut cream and nutmeg, the cocktail is a favourite among locals and visitors in the BVI. For every Painkiller sold during the event, JB's will make a £2 donation.

Mr Calvani said: "We will match each donation made by guests and will also have collection bucket. We will then ask the Bailiff's fund to match our entire donation, therefore doing a four times guest donation that will go straight to this very worthy and needy cause. We are set for a great fun event and we must raise as much money as possible. The BVI are in a desperate state, its hard to even comprehend."

Finance worker Sophia Sarah-Addas moved to Jersey from the BVI a month ago. Since hurricane Irma hit, she has desperately been trying to help the victims and assist with relief from Jersey. She was pleased to hear about JB's event as well as other local efforts, such as the Bailiff's Appeal and the Ports of Jersey collection. She told Express: "I am just so proud to be part of a community like the one in Jersey where the press, the government and volunteers mobilized at the BVI's first cry for help. We appreciate all the help, the wonderful messages of support and demonstrations of generosity from everyone in the Channel Islands and the BVI is eager to have all the islanders back when it's up and running again."

Pictured: Marcus Calvani, who organised the JBs Rum and Reggae event, hopes that the Bailiff's Fund will match money raised on the night.

While a number of Jersey families are still in the BVI, some of them have been evacuated. Tim and Shona Ringsdore reached Puerto Rico on Wednesday after staying with their neighbours, Dawn and Brent Herbert.

Mr Ringsdore told Express: "We have been very lucky compared to others. We were staying with friends in a house with six people and two cats during the storm. It was more violent than I can describe but we survived in a toilet for five hours during the worst period, with a 45 mins respite while the eye passed over, which was surreal. A massive tornado ripped the roof off and we stood in water and sewage for the entire time in the toilet. Outside our house you can see the track of the tornado as it ripped up everything in its path."

The couple also added: "Our thoughts are with the local population who now have months or years to rebuild this beautiful island. We will be back to help if we can."

 

A post shared by Holly Branson (@holly_branson) onSep 13, 2017 at 2:59am PDT

John White and his family, who survived the worst of the storm thanks to a bathroom door, travelled to St Lucia on Tuesday. He is hoping to make it to England with his wife Marta and their two daughters, Amy and Jessica, by the end of the week. Mrs White and the two girls will then move back to Jersey so that the children can go back to school and "some normality" said Mr White. 

Gilbo Simpson's family arrived back in Jersey this week to stay with his parents. Mr Simpson works in the marine salvage industry in Nanny Cay, a large marina with a boat yard, and had to stay behind in the BVI. He told Express: "I am extremely busy right now. There is a huge amount of damage in Nanny Cay. The guys here are working hard on getting systems back on line and we now have power and limited internet. Hopefully the reverse osmosis water plant will be running soon as fresh water is limited."