Barbados Advocate article.
Bridgetown, Barbados - ¡®Rally Round Dominica¡¯ is the call to the Caribbean region to help the island recover from the devastation left behind as a result of the recent passage of Tropical Storm Erika.
The campaign is being led by a partnership between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and The University of the West Indies (UWI), with the support of several businesses in the regional private sector.
In a media conference held last Sunday, September 20, the WICB and UWI announced a line-up of Caribbean celebrities who will play in a T20 charity match on Saturday, September 26, at Kensington Oval in Barbados, starting at 7 p.m.
The campaign is aimed at raising US one million dollars to help Dominica. While the ¡®WICB-UWI Rally Round Dominica Celebrity T20 Cricket Match¡¯ is the cornerstone of the fund-raising, the drive also includes a live telethon on match-day by Flow Caribbean, a text-donation drive by Digicel and a further
donation initiative to collect clothing and food items, as well as cash deposits.
Tropical Storm Erika descended on Dominica on August 27, 2015, claiming lives, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving behind millions of dollars in damage to the island¡¯s roads, bridges and other infrastructure, including its Douglas¨CCharles Airport. Speaking at the media conference, UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles said: ¡°Sport is a social way in which we can collectively get together and celebrate the resilience of the people of Dominica as we raise funds. We care for them. We are concerned with the circumstances they have to deal with¡¡°This initiative came to us from the President of WICB, Dave Cameron¡These two institutions: The WICB and UWI came together to do the right thing, which is to assist our people in their time of need.¡±
Professor Beckles, who will play in the charity match, will lead a UWI Vice-Chancellor Celebrity XI team against a WICB President¡¯s Celebrity XI. Others signed up to play include West Indies Men¡¯s Team Captain, Jason Holder, West Indies Women¡¯s Team Captain Stafanie Taylor, Former West Indies captain Brian Lara, and former player, Ian Bradshaw, Tobago-born footballer Dwight Yorke, Jamaican Olympian athlete Yohan Blake, along with Caribbean-based international cricketers Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard and Denesh Ramdin. For the West Indies team players, it will be the final home game before departing for their tour of Sri Lanka.
¡°Never before have we needed to lend our collective support,¡± said WICB CEO, Michael Muirhead, during his remarks at the media conference. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for West Indians to come together to support one of their own. Neither is it uncommon for the WICB and UWI to collaborate especially where cricket is concerned. In unity lies strength.¡±
Principal of UWI¡¯s Cave Hill Campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau, and Principal of UWI¡¯s Open Campus, Dr Luz Longsworth, also spoke at the media conference and reiterated the sentiment of unity behind the relief efforts.
Prof. Barriteau said: ¡°Our West Indian trait manifests whenever any single member of our regional family is hurting; we all feel the pain. We urge members of the public flying in to join us on Saturday night at Kensington Oval, to wear the prominent Dominica colours of green or yellow or both to show your solidarity with the people of Dominica and to come to the game in large numbers to support this very worthy cause.¡±
Dr. Longsworth said the UWI Open Campus operates a site in Dominica with approximately 400 students pursuing programmes and courses either online or face-to-face. ¡°Since the passage of the storm, our students in Dominica have been challenged to resume their studies,¡± she said. ¡°I can think of no better partnership to bring back light and joy to the people of Dominica than that between The UWI, ¡®a light rising from the west¡¯, and West Indies cricket, which has brought joy to millions of West Indians.¡±
First Published In The Barbados Advocate.