A year after Hurricane Beryl demolished Grenada’s island of Carriacou, Samaritan’s Purse is again bringing hope to this area of the Caribbean.
Last summer, Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Windward Islands as a Category 4 storm. The tiny island of Carriacou—20 miles northeast of mainland Grenada and home to nearly 10,000 people—received the brunt of Beryl’s fury. Sustained winds of 150 miles per hour thrashed its shores and whipped through its rolling hills ripping roofs off houses and businesses, flattening others, and leaving a devastating trail of destruction in its wake. No structure escaped Beryl’s wrath, including Princess Royal, the island’s lone hospital. The 40-bed facility’s roof was torn off. Torrential rain flooded patient rooms and operating theaters making the building unsafe.
A Samaritan’s Purse disaster response specialist surveys damage in Grenada in July 2024.
Samaritan’s Purse quickly responded and airlifted tons of life-saving relief, including emergency shelter material, solar lights, cooking kits, a desalination water unit to provide clean drinking water, and more, to the ravaged island. A fully staffed Emergency Field Hospital soon followed. We partnered with Thy Kingdom Come Deliverance Sanctuary, a church in Grenada with locations on the mainland, Carriacou, and Petite Martinque.
Happy Akasie, 46, is the pastor who oversees the trio of congregations and is the lead pastor of the mainland church. All of the churches have been involved with Operation Christmas Child for nearly 10 years. And even though Happy’s house on Carriacou was demolished by Beryl, the windows of the church on the island blown out, and the church on Petite Martinque leveled, he readily volunteered to help distribute supplies and offered to warehouse our relief stockpile in the sanctuary on Carriacou.
Pastor Happy Akasie praises God for how Samaritan’s Purse continues to serve Grenada through its Operation Christmas Child project.
“I was on the truck with Samaritan’s Purse distributing tarps and helping wherever I could,” he said. “It was heartbreaking to see people looking into your eyes—hopeless. But Samaritan’s Purse brought hope. They were the hands of Jesus after the storm.”
The Goodness of God
The morning after Samaritan’s Purse arrived on Carriacou, Happy led morning devotions for our staff and volunteers at his church. Outside, several people passing by heard them singing about the goodness of God and came in. Happy brought a message of salvation and shared the Gospel.
“Six people gave their lives to Christ who walked in off the street. … It was the Scripture coming alive before us.”
“We let them know that Jesus loves them,” he said. “People were in tears. Six people gave their lives to Christ who walked in off the street. It was so amazing. It was the Scripture coming alive before us.”
Happy said that Samaritan’s Purse coming to Carriacou changed islanders’ perspective of God and Christianity because of the way our staff and volunteers selflessly served. “It was so encouraging to see that many people on the island serving,” he said. “Just the presence of Samaritan’s Purse alone brought so much hope to us. It made us feel that we were not alone, that there were people who loved us and cared for us—and that God had not forgotten us.”
Shoeboxes Bring Joy After Devastation
Recently, nearly a year after Beryl swept through the Caribbean, Happy helped hand out shoebox gifts to boys and girls at Hillsborough Primary School on Carriacou. It’s the first time he had been back to these classrooms since giving the opening prayer 18 years ago when the building opened and was dedicated.
A ministry partner presents the Gospel to students at Hillsborough Primary School in Carriacou.
“It was very special to be back, and it was exciting to see the smiles on the children’s faces when they opened their shoeboxes. There was so much excitement and joy,” he said. “The gifts are precious to the children and are priceless. Many families here cannot afford to buy their children presents at Christmas, so when you bring a gift to them their eyes just light up. But, more importantly, it’s an opportunity to share the Gospel with them.”
Enoch Cadore, the lead pastor for the past five years of Thy Kingdom Come Deliverance Sanctuary on Carriacou, agreed. “The most important aspect is that we are presenting Jesus to a new generation,” he said. “We may not see the impact now, but we are sowing the seed that will eventually take root. Our nation and this generation are in God’s hands.”
Pastor Enoch Cadore and his wife are excited about how Operation Christmas Child helps them invest in Grenada’s next generation.
Shoeboxes were not originally scheduled to be handed out on Carriacou this year. They only were going to be given out in Saint David’s Parish on the mainland. “The hurricane changed our plans,” said Francine Foster, the Operation Christmas Child national discipleship coordinator for Grenada. “The people and the children on the island needed hope and encouragement, so we decided to bring gifts, not only to Saint David, but also to Carriacou. Several outreach events are being held across the island. But I’m most excited that The Greatest Journey will soon begin here, and the boys and girls will learn even more about who Jesus is and how to follow Him.”
A Lasting Impact
Although the Samaritan’s Purse relief effort ended many months ago, Happy says its influence is still being felt.
After living through Hurricane Beryl’s destruction a year ago, girls on Grenada’s the island of Carriacou delight to receive a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox.
“People here still talk about Samaritan’s Purse and are appreciative about what they did,” he said. “And I want the people at Samaritan’s Purse to know that all of your labor and all of your sacrifice made a huge, lasting impact. You touched so many lives, and you continue to do so through Operation Christmas Child. Most importantly, Jesus is being glorified and revealed through all you do.”
Please pray for the people of Carriacou who are still recovering from the storm and that many children will respond to the Good News of Jesus Christ and become faithful followers of Him.
Girls leave the Operation Christmas Child outreach event at Hillsborough Primary School with their newfound treasures.
