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The Can Fest Team along with Scotia Bank staff distribute food parcels to persons at an emergency shelter in Spring Village.
The Can Fest Team along with Scotia Bank staff distribute food parcels to persons at an emergency shelter in Spring Village.
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The organisers of Can Fest, an annual charity event that collects and distributes canned food to the less fortunate in St. Vincent and the Grenadines at Christmas, on New Year’s Eve distributed 300 food packages and water to persons affected by the trough system on Christmas Eve.

One hundred and fifty packages were distributed on the Leeward side of St. Vincent, and the same number of packages on the Windward side of the country. The packages were distributed primarily to people who have had to relocate to emergency shelters as a result of the devastating weather system. In addition to the food packages, water was also distributed, with the support of LIME and Scotiabank, sponsors of Can Fest 2013.

“We, the organisers of Can Fest, regret the loss of life and damage to property resulting from the trough system on Christmas Eve and express our deepest sympathy to those who have lost loved ones as a result of the extreme weather,” said Kenton Ollivierre, managing director of Can Fest organisers, Main Events.

“We also hope that persons whose lives have been disrupted can be returned to normalcy in the shortest possible time, and stand ready to offer any assistance that we can,” Ollivierre added.

“We are happy that we were able to respond and provide these 300 hundred packages immediately after the disaster. We know that the recent weather event and the continuing fallout is extremely distressing for those affected and the nation as a whole, especially since its comes at what should be the most festive and family-oriented time of the year,” Ollivierre said.

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International reggae star, Richie Spice, headlined last year’s Can Fest, which took place in Kingstown on Dec. 13. Can Fest, which began seven years ago, has now evolved into an event management company but continues on its mission to bring the Christmas spirit to the less fortunate.

Nine persons died in the floods and landslides, while three are missing. Some 500 houses were also damaged, the Government says.

One reply on “Can Fest organisers distribute food packages to persons affected by Christmas disaster”

  1. Now I am seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. There seems to be a responsible group already established in SVG. It works with the bank and LIME. The combination is ideal for transferring badly needed funds immediately, to get goods and services that people in distress need badly.
    People can send money via the bank to an account – specifically setup to handle disaster in SVG. Most of the things shipped from foreign can be bought right there in SVG. It takes the pressure off the people in the DIASPORA, because they can send finds from their account to the one established in SVG.
    As a matter of fact; I think this group can be trusted to purchase the materials needed to rebuild the homes lost in the flood. No more party politics to hinder the wishes of donors. This will also get rid of those who would want to use the disaster; pretending to be raising funds for the unfortunate, but instead, use the situation make money for their own purposes.
    The group I just came across is called Can Fest. Let’s see if we can investigate the group and the possibility of working with it to serve all the people of SVG. Let be proactive and stop reacting to situations like this disaster. So far we had Tomas and now the flooding. Let’s be prepared for the next one.
    Your feedback will be appreciated.

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