Skinny Fabulous trying to get assistance for St Vincent

Multiple soca monarch winner Skinny Fabulous has described the state of his country as 'grim', following the ongoing eruptions of the La Soufriere volcano located at the northernmost third of St Vincent island.

"Well, boy, we are already experiencing a pandemic and when the skies are grey to the point where you can't see the sun anymore, it feels like an apocalypse. The volcano has been eruption back-to-back and we watching that happen while at the same time having to deal with the effects," he told THE WEEKEND STAR. The Up and Up artiste said he is trying to get the necessary help for residents.

He and other Vincentian artistes such as Luta, Rodney Small and Darron Andrews have joined forces and are at the centre of the outreach activities across their island home, going door to door and shelter to shelter spreading joy and offering relief where they can.

"As it relates to myself and my immediate family, they were evacuated from their homes and taken on the ferry from the red zones to the green zones. I also have been sheltering a few of my family members in my personal home and I can thankfully say that we're in good health and our spirits are high," he said.

FAST-MOVING

At the moment, St Vincent has lost farm land following the series of explosive eruptions which started last Friday. The volcano erupted on Tuesday, the anniversary of a violent eruption in 1979. Though considered smaller than Monday's eruption, the Tuesday one caused more ash to fall as far away as Barbados. Pyroclastic flows, which are fast-moving currents of hot gas and volcanic matter, have uprooted communities.

Skinny Fabulous said "Our water is filled with ash, the air is filled with gas and has caused widespread damage to our agricultural landscape. Our food security has been compromised and all these is happening outside of the actual eruption. We will have a long road to recovery. If the thought of having a carnival was even there before, there's certainly none happening this year."

He continues to focus all his energy and time into collecting donations and directly engaging the people.

"We play a role as artistes and it has become more apparent how important our humanitarian efforts are," he said. "Organisations like Oxygen Mas has a lot of different contacts, depending on what country persons are sending items from, that can be reached and we appreciate all the help we can get. In Jamaica, our friends with Xaymaca band have connected with us and expressed wanting to host a food drive to aid in our outreach."