Vincentians in Toronto have sprung into action, donating emergency relief supplies for shipment ” back home,” as well as cash, following the news of the eruption of La Soufriere last Friday.

After decades of inactivity,  the volcano erupted, forcing thousands of people from surrounding villages to evacuate.

Fitzgerald Huggins,  the Toronto-based consul general for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who has been overseeing relief operations, told The Caribbean Camera that the people who have been displaced by the eruption are in great need of food, water and other items.

Fitzgerald Huggins,  the Toronto-based consul general for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who has been overseeing relief operations, told The Caribbean Camera that the people who have been displaced by the eruption are in great need of food, water and other items.

KLC Shipping in Scarborough has offered storage and free shipment of relief supplies from Canada to NEMO.

“As soon as people can get the necessary items to us, we will get them shipped,”  Huggins said.

He pointed out, however, that no used clothing will be accepted.

Hayden Jason Jones,  chairman  of CARI-ON  SVG Disaster Preparedness, said  the organization is working closely with the Consul General of St, Vincent and the Grenadines  and NEMO ” to coordinate community groups and individuals wishing to contribute to relief efforts.”

The relief efforts includes a fund-raising drive ” with GoFundMe,  email transfer and a bank account for deposits.”

(The Go fundme link is  http://gf.me/u/znfp3q The E Transfer Email is: carionsvgvolcanorelief@gmail.com  and the Bank account for deposits is: Bank of Montreal BMO Account No. 2997 1987-24)

Meanwhile, GlobalMedic, a Canadian charity and disaster response agency, has also  organized a local relief effort to help displaced families in St. Vincent.

Rahul Singh, executive director of GlobalMedic, said the group is  donating emergency kits.

The kits include dried food, such as rice, lentils, and pasta.

“We’re hoping to reach as many people as we can,” said Singh.

The Mississauga-based King David Global Foundation says it  is also ready to provide help to St. Vincent.

The Foundation which specializes in water purification, says it is offering its serrvices to the government and people of St. Vincent ” free of cost.”

Many Vincentians in Canada are reported to  have been  anxiously “phoning home” to inquire about relatives  and the state of the country after hearing news broadcasts about the La Soufriere eruption.

Stephan George, a community coordinator with Toronto Housing, said his mother was told  by a relative in St. Vincent that the recent eruptions are worst than what occured in 1979.