73 Young Vincentians Crossed the Sea to Rebuild a Church Hurricane Maria Destroyed

• Seventy-three Adventist youth campers from St Vincent travelled to Dominica in July 2019
• They helped rebuild the Boetica Seventh-day Adventist Church, destroyed by Hurricane Maria
• All 36 Adventist churches in Dominica were damaged in the 2017 storm
• The campers completed the concrete block work in three days

Nearly two years after Hurricane Maria, a group of young people from St Vincent and the Grenadines spent their summer camp rebuilding a church in Dominica. iWitness News reported on 22 July 2019 that 73 campers from the St Vincent and the Grenadines Mission of Seventh-day Adventists travelled to Dominica for a mission called IMPACT Dominica 2019.

Their project was the Boetica Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dominica’s South East District, which was destroyed when Hurricane Maria struck in September 2017. The scale of the damage to the denomination was severe: all 36 Adventist churches on the island were damaged, and only eight remained operational immediately after the hurricane.

The rebuilding project was initiated by Maranatha Volunteers International, and the Vincentian youth completed the concrete block laying in three days. The mission was organised by the Youth Department of the SVG Mission, led by Youth Director Pastor Brent St Jean, with Jemalie John serving as camp director. The SVG Mission aimed to see the church finished by the end of 2019.

A note of thanks in the report read: “To the campers who braved the ocean in the dark of night and sacrificed their usual comforts; to the many masons who gave of their skill — a heartfelt thank you.” The report did not give the cost of the project.

The mission shows how church networks across the Eastern Caribbean act as a rebuilding force after disasters. Volunteer labour from sister churches can cut costs dramatically, while skilled masons ensure the work is done properly.

After Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica has received similar help from overseas church groups. The Boetica story is a reminder that such partnerships work best when there is local coordination, a clear project and skilled supervision. Jamaican churches and youth groups, in turn, can offer the same help to neighbouring islands when storms strike, and diaspora congregations can fund materials so that volunteer labour goes as far as possible.