Access For Good: Supporting UNICEF's response to St. Vincent and The Grenadines

The Access for Good initiative allows our customers to do more for their communities. We donate 1c for every online top-up sent by our users, to provide for the people who need it most.

Our latest partnership is with UNICEF Eastern Caribbean, in support of their emergency response to the volcanic eruption in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

The eruption of La Soufrière Volcano

The La Soufrière volcano first began erupting in December last year, and after a few months of grumbling activity, on April 9 2021 the volcano entered an explosive state.

It is estimated between 16-20,000 people were evacuated from the high-risk danger zones, although the true impact of the eruption spans even wider than those evacuated.

The volcano has caused large displacements of children and families across the island, critical services like running water have been disrupted, and a coordinated clean up is required to remove the dangerous ash.

The timing of the eruption, at the point where the country was just recovering from its largest Covid outbreak, has only made the response to the emergency more challenging.

Schools turned shelters are putting a pause on education

To accommodate the people who were evacuated from the 'high risk' zones, over 70 of the island's 94 schools have been turned into shelters for evacuated citizens.

As a result, most schools have been forced to stay closed, despite getting the green light that they were safe to reopen after Covid-19 cases had gone down.

Many students like Jenique, pictured above, are longing to go back to school:

“I can’t get to study now or complete the school-based part of the exams, and self-studying in the shelter is hard because of the lack of privacy.“

How our donation is helping

With recovery efforts likely to take several months, immediate action is required to provide children and families with food, shelter and medical support.

Donations from the Ding Access For Good initiative will provide immediate support in UNICEF's response to SVG.

We have provided funds for 833 family emergency kits that will serve 4,166 people. These family kits include emergency response items such as:

• Water purification tablets

• Menstrual hygiene products

• First aid kits

• Shampoo and soaps

• School books

• Sports equipment

The supply of these kits will provide immediate relief to displaced families. It will also allow local government to focus their efforts on the clean-up, meaning students like Jenique can return to school sooner.