By ERIKA RILEY
FREDERICK, Maryland, December 15, 2019 — The day after Hurricane Dorian hit The Bahamas in August, Dr. Bert Williams visited his sister in Florida in order to connect with family members who still live on the islands.
One family member was out of touch for nine days. With the cell phone towers and electricity down, getting connected was impossible.
“The devastation was rather significant,” Williams said. “It will certainly take a number of year for things to be normalized again.”
While the hurricane was months ago, there is still plenty to rebuild on the archipelago. About 75,000 people were displaced – which is a little less than a quarter of the country’s population.
In order to benefit those affected by the hurricane Williams and members of the Asbury United Methodist Church held a jazz brunch this Saturday morning at the Morningside Inn.
Williams’ wife, Trevia Hayden, said that once they began seeing a decrease in media coverage about the hurricane, they knew they had to do something to help out.
“We wanted to do something special during the holidays to let them know they’re not forgotten,” Hayden said.
The two most affected islands, Abaca and Grand Bahama, lost most of their homes and encountered severe flooding. While some residents who were displaced from Abaco are trying to go back to the island and rehabilitate it now, it is still completely devastated, with destroyed infrastructure and lasting effects of the extreme flooding.
“We still have a long way to go and the need is certainly great,” Williams said. “And certainly we appreciate any help that we can get. Because any help adds to what we can do.” See full report in The Frederick News-Post at https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/music/jazz-brunch-benefits-bahamas-after-hurricane-dorian/article_deb3d602-d2fb-5cd4-94f8-612fe4aa355a.html?fbclid=IwAR3VDrbJQ_KD3cnlDq-5M3Ay3Q_Y8V0fnrgkV5Mc7JL_jw2e4CQpySs0q4c
