Efforts to rebuild the Portsmouth Roman Catholic church destroyed by an earthquake in 2004 received a major boost recently with a contribution of $100,000 by Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit.

PM Skerrit who is also the Minister of finance made the pledge at the start of the radio telethon on October 28.

The five-hour radio/telethon which took place at the studios of SAT Telecommunications in Roseau featured the Capuchin cultural Group; a steel band rendition by Monelle Alexis; a harmonica solo by Amos Charles; the Portsmouth Youth Choir and poems by Mary Parillion and Justina John, among other solo performances.

The performance that moved the studio audience of almost 100 to the brink of tears was a rendition of the Magnificat by Dominica’s First Lady of Song, Ophelia Marie.

During the five-hour extravaganza, many persons from Portsmouth gave their personal recollections of the trauma they experienced when the earthquake struck on that fateful Sunday morning, both in the studio and recorded video footage of the disaster.

Also in attendance at the radio/telethon were the Bishop of Roseau, Gabriel Malzaire; parliamentary representative for the Portsmouth constituency, Ian Douglas; parish priest, Fr Herman Sharplis; members of the fund-raising committee and residents from Portsmouth and neighbouring communities.

The radio/telethon was a collaborative effort of SAT Telecommunications, Marpin Telecoms and Broadcasting DBS Radio, Kairi FM and Q95. Many other individuals and entities also contributed to the success of the event. Alvin Knight and Alex Bruno hosted the event.

The prime Minister and the Bishop of Roseau are patrons for the rebuilding of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Church.

The total amount raised during the radio/telethon was over $203,000, which includes the $100,000 contribution from the government of Dominica. Prior to the radio/telethon, an amount of EC $500,000 was raised through various activities, both in Dominica and abroad.

The total amount needed to rebuild the church is EC $2.5M. Persons can continue to make their contributions to the rebuilding effort via internet, by cheque payable to Portsmouth Catholic Church Rebuilding fund; by bank transfer to National Bank of Dominica Account No 315000121, Swift Code-NB- DMDMDM; via Citibank NY-Swift Code CitiUS33 or Lloyds TSB Swift code Lloydgb2L.

For more information on the rebuilding effort, contact parish priest, Fr Herman Sharplis on 445-5218 or Chairperson of the Fundraising committee, Jacqueline Douglas on 445-3353 and 277-8390 or Petronella Sarvin-John on 44-5029 or 276-4246.
(Edited from The Chronicle, Dominica)