The Rebuild SXM campaign for Sint Maarten is doing well. The group from Sint Maarten in Eindhoven has collected more than 10,000 euros currently.
Rebuild SXM wants to raise at least 100,000 euros eventually. With this they hope to help the “forgotten” groups on the island for the long term. They focus on children and the elderly at first.
The foundation has set three goals where they want to spend the money. First of all, they are going to arrange school supplies for the children on the island. School uniforms, books, pens, all that is needed. Lots of stuff has been lost during Hurricane Irma.
Secondly, Rebuild SXM wants to support the various sports initiatives for young people on the island during reconstruction. Moreover, the elderly on the island are an important destination of the money. “In an emergency like these, the elderly are often forgotten,” founder John Sandiford says. “We want to help the groups that the rest do not focus on”.
In addition, Rebuild SXM wants to better highlight the hurricane impact, especially in children and young people. They go to schools to tell students about the hurricane’s aftermath. Their first presentation at a primary school in Hilversum led to a campaign from the students. In addition, around 1000 euros were collected.
In addition to raising money, Rebuild SXM wants to be a platform for other auxiliary actions in the Netherlands and beyond. On the website, different campaigns take place. The collected money then goes through Rebuild SXM to the island. The organization receives many messages about all kinds of campaigns.
If Rebuild SXM cannot offer aid themselves, they refer people to those who can. “Facilitating connections is also an important function of us,” says Sandiford. “We have a large network on the island.”
If the campaign achieves the goal of 100,000 euros, the help from Rebuild SXM will not stop. For the organization, the focus is still for the long term. They are therefore waiting to spent the money until they have enough and there is a clear destination.
Photo: Ministry of Defense
Source: Studio040
