Looking Forward...Looking Back

On March 11–17, 2007, a group of MDRT member volunteers will join the resilient locals of Eight Mile Rock, in West End, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas to build a playground for the children of this underserved community. The small island is the second most populous island of the Bahamas and is located approximately 55 miles off the coast of south Florida.

As the MDRT Foundation and volunteer team members look forward and prepare for the exciting playground build ahead, we also look back on the events that caused extensive damage to this community after consecutive-year hurricanes.

Community leaders and residents in Eight Mile Rock (EMR) have been working hard to rebuild their community after it suffered considerable damage from Hurricane Frances in 2004 and Hurricanes Wilma and Gene in 2005.

Hurricane Wilma became what many locals have said was the most devastating hurricane the island has ever seen. It left at least a thousand Bahamians homeless and hundreds more with out water, food and electricity for 4-6 weeks after the storm. Small, remote fishing villages like EMR sustained the heaviest damage.

“This is the worst one I’ve been through,” Samuel Mation, 74, recounted to representatives of National Geographic as he sifted through the remains of his small home in EMR. “I moved to Grand Bahama in 1960, and this is the worst one I’ve seen.”

Anthony "Tiger" J. Longley a 16-year MDRT member from Nassau, Bahamas, nominated the Seagrape Community Park, in EMR, for the MDRT Foundation playground when he learned the MDRT Foundation was planning another member volunteer project. He selected EMR because it is the only area that has otherwise not received any support or commitment for community park development. “This is going to be really upscale, and in fact, right now I don’t know of anything in New Providence [an island to the south where the capital city of Nassau is located] that will compare to what we are going to be building here in EMR,” Longley said.

The MDRT Foundation is partnering, for the fifth time, with Kids Around the World (KIDS) for this playground build. The MDRT Foundation awarded KIDS a $100,000 grant to fund the cost of purchasing and shipping the playground equipment to Grand Bahama Island. KIDS, which is based in Rockford, Illinois, is committed to building colorful playgrounds throughout the world for children who are affected by poverty, natural disasters, and political unrest.

The team of MDRT volunteers, who are participating at their own expense, will dig holes and construct equipment to create a safe and fun place to play for the children and families of this coastal fishing village. This playground will include a separate toddler play area and volunteers will also make necessary improvements to the existing basketball court and bleachers. Upon completion this state-of-the-art playground will become a recreational landmark that will create lasting hope and many moments of joy and laughter for the people of EMR.