At least thirty of the houses damaged or destroyed in Sandy Bay by Hurricane Tomas will be rebuilt in the next two to three weeks, thanks to the generosity of the Mustique Charitable Trust (MCT).{{more}}

The Trust, working along with the Mustique Company, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), and the Housing and Land Development Corporation (HLDC) will rebuild up to thirty houses. Chairman of the MCT Roger Pritchard told SEARCHLIGHT that they expect to build more houses, once research is done to determine the needs of the community.

Pritchard stated that the Trust received donations from the Mustique community; the supplies to rebuild the houses were purchased from local companies, and some shipped from Miami.

The houses which will be rebuilt are a mixture of those which were completely destroyed and those partially destroyed with roofs torn off. Wall structures as well as board houses will be built. Pritchard added that the rebuilding process will take up to three weeks.

“We would like to fix them within two or three weeks, if possible,” he said.

“This will be ongoing, if you speak to me the same time next week, I’ll probably tell you we’re going to build sixty houses,” Pritchard said, adding that he has received further requests for assistance to build houses in places such as Arnos Vale and New Grounds. He added that representatives from the Trust will be sent to examine the extent of the damage to the houses in Arnos Vale and New Grounds.

He added that the MCT is also working along with the Taiwanese Embassy to supply farmers with various seeds to begin replanting crops.

“We spoke to Taiwanese Embassy. We are going to help organize the distribution of seeds, so some of these farmers can go ahead immediately and plant at least fruits and vegetables so that A. they get food, and B. its coming up to the Christmas season and they’ll make a little bit of money out of it as well,” Pritchard said.

The MCT was established in 2008 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines with the mission to improve the opportunities for children, young people and vulnerable adults while supporting the development of sustainable local communities throughout St. Vincent and the Grenadines.