DIGICEL Group yesterday announced the donation of US$500,000 worth of much-needed items to support the urgent relief efforts in St Vincent & the Grenadines caused by the Le Soufriere volcanic eruption.

The telecommunications company, in a release, said it will work with the Government of St Vincent & the Grenadines to identify immediate needs, noting that with thousands of people evacuated from the red zone and housed in shelters and significant ash fall resulting from the explosive eruptions of La Soufriere affecting the entire island, the situation is developing and deteriorating.

The company said, too, that it will assist in procuring and shipping items identified as urgently needed in the early stages by the National Emergency Management Organisation.

“With our priorities being helping to keep people safe and keeping them connected, it’s at times like these that our natural instinct is to want to do everything we can to help. As a company, as a team and as the Digicel family, we are here for the people of St Vincent & the Grenadines and ready to help in a meaningful way,” said Digicel Group Chairman Denis O’Brien.

“We take our responsibility as a provider of critical national infrastructure very seriously. Ably and energetically led by Fanta Williams, our CEO for Digicel St Vincent & the Grenadines, our business continuity management teams are mobilised on island and across the Caribbean, and our focus is on ensuring our network serves the needs of the people at this critical and unsettling time and that we come through this together,” said O’Brien.