There is an indomitable spirit on the island of St. John.
A beautiful island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, part of the Caribbean chain, St. John was recently devastated by back-to-back hurricanes. Hurricane Irma a category 5 storm, packing wind gusts above 200mph, slammed into St. John on September 6th. Hurricane Maria followed with torrential rains two weeks later adding insult to injury.
I arrived by ferry at Cruz Bay, the main town on St. John that is affectionately known as “Love City,” on October 20th, 44 days after Hurricane Irma. I went to meet with Celia Kalousek, head of the St. John Community Foundation (SJCF) – an organization that has been providing community services supporting youth, the homeless and developing green solutions on the island since 1989. SJCF is deeply connected to the local community and collaborates closely with 57 other non-profits in St. John who serve the community and who are called “STJangel” organizations. I knew that SJCF and its STJangel member organizations would play a critical role in the recovery and the long rebuilding process ahead. I wanted to find out what I could do to help.
I had read blog posts about a restaurant on the island that had been preparing free daily meals for the community right after the hurricane hit and continued to do so for weeks after. It was called 420 to Center, and I wanted to go there myself to show support for this good work. When I arrived, I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Dan Snyder from the Global Disaster Immediate Recovery Team (D.I.R.T.). Global D.I.R.T. is a multidisciplinary group of first responders for disasters; and Dan is a firefighter from Texas who had been on St. John doing rescue and recovery work since day 1 post-Irma.
Dan introduced me to the founder of Global D.I.R.T., Adam Marlatt, a former marine who explained that Global D.I.R.T. provides immediate relief in disaster settings all around the world from Nepal, to the Phillippines to Houston, Texas. He explained that Global D.I.R.T. works with local NGOs – like STJF and the STJangel organizations - that are critical in coordinating and delivering disaster relief services. The organization has established a program called “Help.ngo” to identify verified NGOs in countries around the world before disasters happen so that relief efforts in the early days and beyond can be more effective.
I was inspired again when I met up with Matt Atkinson, a young boat builder I had come to know through prior visits to the island. In the days following the hurricanes, Matt and his network of friends from the U.S. mainland organized the collection of badly needed materials. They collected so many donations that Matt had to arrange for cargo shipping containers in Philadelphia to send the materials directly to St. John. He had just finished a long day of unloading the materials with a group of volunteers.
I could feel the spirit of St. John at work.
A couple of days later, I drove around the island. How do you effectively convey the impact of a category 5 hurricane? I have never been to a war zone but I felt like I was beginning to understand what devastation really means. Fixing it feels like an impossible task. Only visuals can really communicate what the scene looks like effectively, though they are jarring. It was like a bomb had gone off all over the entire island. Landscapes that were once lush and deep green were now bare and brown.
Caneel Bay
Battered and broken tree trunks and branches were all that remained.
Roofs constructed with steel “I- beams” were twisted and destroyed. 
Dan Snyder explained that Irma delivered steady 200mph winds for a 90-minute period during the storm, which took the better part of a day to pass over. The islanders had huddled in their homes throughout it – some in wooden structures that were blown away while they prayed for their lives, others in concrete structures that were “vibrating” while they rode out the hurricane.
This is the indomitable spirit on the island of St. John.
On the third night of my visit, 46 days since Hurricane Irma and 46 days without electricity, the community gathered in the square at the center of Cruz Bay. I heard the familiar, vibrant Caribbean beat and saw the community members dance with joy and abandon. I smiled. I couldn’t help but smile at this rare moment where the human spirit meets tragedy head on and chooses to smile back. I heard an unexpected version of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking out loud” and the verse “we found love right where we are.” I thought to myself, “Of course, this is Love City after all.”
The following morning, I went to meet Celia from SJCF to discuss what could be done to provide support to her organization and the STJangel network as they take on the sobering task of rebuilding an entire community. Celia confirmed what I already knew. The most important thing in the early phases of post-disaster rebuilding is cash. Cash that these organizations can put to immediate use in providing relief services for families in need, to assist in reopening schools, to supplement meals at shelters and much more. Cash that can begin to support rebuilding and the local economy until the time that tourists come back to support the island community.
I attended the bi-weekly community meeting with Celia at the National Park Headquarters in the harbor. Representatives from various local organizations provided status updates and shared information for over an hour; the local police, the school administrators, FEMA, the Coast Guard, WAPA (the local electric utility company, St. John Rescue, health officials, the national park, St. John Community Foundation and many others were present. The community members applauded early, recognizing even the small victories that had already been made. They asked questions of officials and listened carefully to the reports that laid bare the stark challenges ahead. At the end of the meeting, everyone joined hands in a large circle for a moment of silent reflection. A local minister then offered a bit of song to uplift the group, and with that everyone moved out to take on their respective day of rebuilding.
This is the indomitable spirit on the island of St. John.
This spirit is what drives the recovery and the rebuilding. And this community desperately needs support, donations and ultimately volunteers. This #GivingTuesday, show this community your indomitable spirit. Give. Donate. Help the St. John Community Foundation and the STJangel organizations lift their community and their island up from destruction. Be part of the conversation #STJangel and connect with us @STJangel
Beach carving, Cruz Bay