Another family returns from hurricane-ravaged Bahamas

Another family of five, who was affected by Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas returned to Guyana on Sunday evening.
The Cooper family arrived in Guyana at about 22:00h at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) at Timehri, East Bank Demerara.
Stevie Cooper, who is originally from The Bahamas, and his reputed wife, Vanessa Taite, a Guyanese, and their three children, Stevie Cooper Jnr, Steven Cooper and Steve Cooper, who were all born on the island, were welcomed to Guyana by Citizenship Minister Winston Felix.
The Minister told reporters at the airport that the family’s trip was made possible by Caribbean Airlines. “The issues with respect to citizenship would be sorted out. As you are aware the husband is Bahamian and the children are born to a Guyanese mother outside of Guyana so these are issues we would have to walk them through the process to regularisation,” he added.
The family will be staying with relatives in Georgetown. Next week two more persons are expected to return home.
The family, who briefly spoke with the media, described their experience as “horrible”. Vanessa Taite said, “It’s nothing that no one actually live through like speaking about it you would get an impression but actually going through it is an absolute difference”.
She said it was quite frightening to watch her friends and family die in the disaster but even more frightening for her was when her roof came off, leaving her young children exposed. “It’s like literally going through a scary movie,” she added.
Taite, who was away from Guyana for six years, said she is glad to be home.
On September 15, a family of five also returned to Guyana from the hurricane-ravaged island.
Thirty-five-year-old Orin Grimmond and his wife, 35-year-old Sholme Grimmond, arrived at the CJIA with their three children seven-year-old Seraphine, two-year-old Angeline and two-month-old Kemuel.
They were accommodated at the Marriott Hotel before they left for Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), to meet their family members.
On September 1, Dorian, a category five hurricane, ripped through the small Caribbean archipelago with winds near 240 kilometres per hour (150 miles per hour), the US National Hurricane Center said.
A BBC report stated that Dorian was the most powerful storm to hit The Bahamas.
Bahamians are now facing severe health threats as they are trying to cope with the lack of access to toilets, clean water, and medication.
The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has set up an account here for persons who would like to make contributions towards assisting persons in The Bahamas.
Persons desirous of contributing financial donations are asked to make those contributions to the account named GBTI Hurricane Relief Fund-Bahamas # 011802963011.