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Dear USICD Members & Friends,

On 19-20 August, I attended the 2017 Biennial Regional Disabled Peoples' International North America Caribbean (DPI NAC) meeting in Antigua. At the meeting, I was elected as the organization's Vice President. The next day, I traveled with the local Disabled Peoples' Organization, the Antigua & Barbuda Association of Persons with Disabilities (ABAPD) to visit islanders with disabilities. What I found was disturbing.

One gentleman had been lying in his bed for over 15 years and living in a shed that was falling apart with holes
Bernard Warner (left), Jamamarie, & Isabel Hodge (right)
in the roof. With the help of volunteers, ABAPD was building him a new home but had run out of funds to complete it. Another individual experienced a stroke and was living in something much worse and used a cane that was falling apart. A young girl, Jamamarie, was about to turn 14 the next day and had not been to school in years because she lacked a wheelchair. She was crawling on her hands and knees and showed signs of infection. I promptly bought her a basic wheelchair and a cane for the other gentleman.

Yes, this is the reality in Antigua and Barbuda. A popular tourist spot for cruise ships and others who love to enjoy Calypso music, Caribbean food, and some of the best beaches in the world -- where people with disabilities are living in appalling conditions and being hidden away from tourists. ABAPD is resourceful and is working hard to change these circumstances for their peers with disabilities. But the lack of funds is holding them back.

Today, I write to you because I am deeply concerned about our brethren in the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma has devastated Barbuda where approximately 60 people with disabilities reside.  We are still waiting to hear from members of our sister DPI organization in the other islands and concerned that they are now rendered homeless due to flooding and hurricane damage and have lost anything of value, such as their mobility devices. 

In Barbuda, over 90% of the buildings 
have been destroyed and two more storms are brewing in the Atlantic

Meeting with an Antiguan gentleman who had been lying in his bed for 15 years.
 

As the Vice President and regional council member of DPI NAC, USICD feels a strong responsibility to do something to help. So I write to you today to ask for your help in raising funds to assist the Disabled Peoples' Organizations in the region that have been hard hit by Hurricane Irma.

Please consider donating to USICD today! Your donations will be sent to DPI NAC and distributed to the region's disabled peoples organizations to help them purchase equipment and other medically necessary items.  Please use the designation "Hurricane Irma Relief Efforts" when making your donation. 

Don't forget to share this email with your friends and colleagues!

Sincerely,

Isabel Hodge
Executive Director
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