Joseph Raymond, 60, has been living in his small home at the top of a hill in the town of Anse D’Hainault with his wife and three children for so long, he cannot remember when he moved there.
He is a farmer, and he own three hectares of land where he cultivates yams, rice and other crops. However, since Hurricane Matthew passed through Anse D’Hainault on 4 October, all his crops have been destroyed.
“We had no food. We went digging in the fields to find any yams that were still there,” says Raymond. “We managed to find a few and we have been eating this.”
Raymond and his family received a relief package from the Red Cross, which included hygiene items, some food, water, a kitchen set, two tarps and some tools to repair the home.
Red Cross volunteers are visiting Raymond and the people in his neighbourhood to make sure they have secured their tarps properly.
“The tarp is very important for us because we were under the rain before,” said Raymond.
The Red Cross is the first organization to provide assistance to this community since the hurricane struck. Many of the houses in the area collapsed under the strength of Matthew.
“Everyone ran down to the bottom of the hill. The houses were falling,” said Joseph.
Most people in his neighbourhood, including his family, were able to find shelter in cars and wait out the storm.
Raymond is thankful for what he received from the Red Cross, and he hopes to be able to use the tools to work in his fields, to clear the debris and regrow his crops.
