In the days that followed Irma and the terrible images of Saint-Martin broadcast on television and on the internet, a vast support network was set up to come to our aid. Spontaneously, individuals, families, associations and communities mobilized, mobilized their loved ones and showed the greatest generosity.
If one had to remember a good memory linked to the disaster called Irma, it would be that of solidarity. Solidarity between Saint-Martinois, but also the immense outpouring of solidarity from the Caribbean islands and the metropolis. For the metropolis, the Maison de Saint-Martin in Paris acted as a relay between the numerous donors and the routing of their donations to Saint-Martin.
For Vice-President Annick Pétrus, there were three types of donations
“There were three types of donations,” explains Annick Petrus, third vice-president of the Collectivity, in charge of the Solidarity and Families Pole, training and education.
The first arrived in containers, filled with food, water, hygiene products, clothing, shoes and other essentials, for all ages. These donations came from Guadeloupe, Martinique and all of metropolitan France. “We were really supported,” underlines the elected, specifying that these donations were of quality, with new clothes and shoes and good brand food.
The second type of donation consisted of bank transfers to an account opened for the occasion by the Collectivity, and managed by the treasurer-payer. 868 euros were thus sent by communities - municipalities, general and regional councils - but also by associations and individuals.
The three main donors were the EDF Foundation and the two associations of the mayors of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Without forgetting large French municipalities having voted substantial donations.
As for the last type of donation, Civil Security is at the origin, by making a gift to the Collectivity, when it leaves the island, of all the important stock that it had not yet distributed, built up food, water and clothing.
These three types of donations do not take into account donations collected by the Fondation de France (FDF) which amount to 12 million euros for Saint-Martin and which are directly managed by the Foundation. President Gibbs has met with FDF officials on several occasions in order to ensure that these funds are given as a priority to Saint-Martin associations acting concretely for the public good.
How were the donations distributed?
The first in-kind donations were distributed in the weeks after the cyclone to the public who needed them the most, through the Solidarity and Family Pole and neighborhood associations.
Unless the donor has indicated what use his donation was intended for, as was the case for the reconstruction of the EHPAD Bethany Home, the 868 euros in cash donations have not yet been spent. They will be used in addition to the 000 million euros mobilized by the Collectivité to repair the roofs of the most disadvantaged people (families with young children, the elderly, the disabled) and not benefiting from multi-risk home insurance.
As for the stock made available by Civil Security and stored at Frigodom, in Galisbay, it continues to be distributed in a targeted manner to an audience identified by around fifteen neighborhood associations, such as Le Mantle de Saint-Martin or Sandy Ground. on the move.
“Many people are in great distress since Irma,” Annick Petrus tells us, “new poor, people who never imagined having to ask for public aid in their lives, people who no longer have economy, more resources, who have ended their partial unemployment or lost their job. So we give them something to dress and to eat ”.
This same stock feeds the 38 destitute and homeless people still hosted at the Nina Duverly school and who have not yet found a solution to relocate. They were 130 the day after Irma. The Collectivity has helped some families to leave the island, if they were expected elsewhere, as is currently the case for a mother and her three young children, who will join relatives in France in the coming days.
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