They weren’t joking when they said that its 96 degrees in the shade in the tropics.
Last evening, my husband & I attended a benefit gala at the prestigious Jumby Bay resort’s Estate House put on by the Gov. of Antigua & Barbuda. The weather was extremely humid and hot, but so was the ambience of the gala. The atmosphere, performances and company were sizzling !
The gala was hosted in an effort to raise funds to rebuild Barbuda, Antigua’s sister island who was hit by the devastating Hurricane Irma in September 2017. Barbuda is a small beautiful unspoiled island located 61.5km from Antigua in the Caribbean. It is famously known for its 18 mile pink sand beach, luxurious blue lagoon , majestic Frigate bird sanctuary and exotic animals such as tropical fish, turtles, dolphins in the winter months, wild boars and deer !
Barbuda is currently uninhabitable. Many of the animals are stranded on the island without their owners. The island’s people have lost EVERYTHING. They have since been displaced in Antigua, and placed in shelters or with selfless families or friends. The government of Antigua & Barbuda in conjunction with NODS (National Office of Disaster Services), numerous volunteers and some of the residence of Barbuda have recently come together to clean up the island. The clean up effort goes on daily. Individuals commute via the ferry and other sea vessels to feed the animals and help in the facilitation of rebuilding the infrastructure.
A 5 course dinner, art auction, special appearances from celebrities such as Anthony Mackie, Whoopie Goldberg via video and live performances by 2002 Antigua’s Queen of Carnival & voted Miss World’s most talented Shermain Jeremy, international artists such as Tesseanne Chin, winner of the VOICE & the musically talented Wyclef Jean made the night extra special. It is tragedies such as these which teach us that we should not merely exist but LIVE our best LIFE!
We should be grateful, selfless, thankful & always be willing to be our brother’s keeper in both good times and bad.
Beautiful decor & ambience created by local event planner Paul Aflak
Tessanne Chin
Some of the beautiful art pieces for the auction
Ambassador to the UAE Gilbert Boustany & Event Coordinator Elizabeth Makhoul
If you have an interest in donating to the rebuilding project of Barbuda go to :
Barbuda Relief and Rebuilding Fund via Antigua Commercial Bank and Caribbean Union Bank, administered by the Government of Antigua & Barbuda .
