News Releases

WICB, UWI Urge the Caribbean to “Rally ‘Round Dominica”

For Release Upon Receipt - September 25, 2015

St. Augustine


 ‘Rally Round Dominica’ is the call to the Caribbean region to help the island recover from the devastation left behind as a result of the recent passage of Tropical Storm Erika. The campaign is being led by a partnership between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and The University of the West Indies (UWI) with the support of several businesses in the regional private sector.  In a media conference held last Sunday, September 20, the WICB and UWI announced a line-up of Caribbean celebrities who will play in a T20 charity match on Saturday, September 26, at Kensington Oval in Barbados, starting at 7 p.m. (East Caribbean Time). The campaign is aimed at raising US 1million dollars to help Dominica. While the ‘WICB-UWI Rally Round Dominica Celebrity T20 Cricket Match’ is the cornerstone of the fundraising, the drive also includes a live telethon on match-day by Flow Caribbean, a text-donation drive by Digicel and a further donation initiative to collect clothing and food items, as well as cash deposits. 

Tropical Storm Erika descended on Dominica on August 27, 2015, claiming lives, destroying hundreds of homes and leaving behind millions of dollars in damage to the island’s roads, bridges and other infrastructure, including its Douglas–Charles Airport. Speaking at the media conference, UWI Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Hilary Beckles said: “Sport is a social way in which we can collectively get together and celebrate the resilience of the people of Dominica as we raise funds. We care for them. We are concerned with the circumstances they have to deal with…“This initiative came to us from the President of WICB, Dave Cameron…These two institutions: The WICB and UWI came together to do the right thing, which is to assist our people in their time of need.” 

Professor Beckles, who will play in the charity match, will lead a UWI Vice-Chancellor Celebrity XI team against a WICB President's Celebrity XI. Others signed up to play include West Indies Men's Team Captain, Jason Holder, West Indies Women's Team Captain Stafanie Taylor, Former West Indies captain Brian Lara, and former player, Ian Bradshaw, Tobago-born footballer Dwight Yorke, Jamaican Olympian athlete Yohan Blake, along with Caribbean-based international cricketers Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard and  Denesh Ramdin.  For the West Indies team players, it will be the final home game before departing for their tour of Sri Lanka. 

“Never before have we needed to lend our collective support,” said WICB CEO, Michael Muirhead, during his remarks at the media conference. “It’s not uncommon for West Indians to come together to support one of their own. Neither is it uncommon for the WICB and UWI to collaborate especially where cricket is concerned. In unity lies strength.” 

Principal of UWI’s Cave Hill Campus, Professor Eudine Barriteau, and Principal of UWI’s Open Campus, Dr Luz Longsworth, also spoke at the media conference and reiterated the sentiment of unity behind the relief efforts.  

Prof. Barriteau said: “Our West Indian trait manifests whenever any single member of our regional family is hurting; we all feel the pain. We urge members of the public flying in to join us next Saturday night at Kensington Oval, to wear the prominent Dominica colours of green or yellow or both to show your solidarity with the people of Dominica and to come to the game in large numbers to support this very worthy cause.”  

Dr. Longsworth said the UWI Open Campus operates a site in Dominica with approximately 400 students pursuing programmes and courses either online or face-to-face.  “Since the passage of the storm, our students in Dominica have been challenged to resume their studies,” she said. “I can think of no better partnership to bring back light and joy to the people of Dominica than that between The UWI, ‘a light rising from the west’, and West Indies cricket, which has brought joy to millions of West Indians.” 

Members of the public across the region are kindly asked to give generously through any of the following ways: 

1. Make an additional financial contribution to the relief fund when you purchase tickets to the Celebrity T20 Match at the BCA Ticket Office or online at www.windiescricket.com. 

2. Watch the match live on Flow Channel 99, Lime Channel 101 or local Caribvision channel or online at http://www.windiescricket.com/ or http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/videos/livestream.asp on Saturday, September 26 and call in to pledge in the telethon. 

3. Text the word “DOMINICA” from any Digicel phone to the numbers listed below. A fixed donation amount will be deducted from your account for each text message received. Text as often as you like.   

 

 If you’re in…

Text “DOMINICA” to …

…to donate this fixed amount to Dominica’s Relief effort

Anguilla

5151

XC$ 1

Antigua

5151

XC$ 1

Aruba

5151-5154

AWG$ 1.50

Bonaire

5151-5154

US$ 1.50

Curacao

5151-5154

FL$ 1.50

Barbados

5152

BB$ 5

Bermuda

5151

US$ 1

British Virgin Islands

5151

US$ 1

Cayman Islands

5151

KY$ 1

FWI

9995 OR 99910

EU$ 5 and EU$10

Grenada

5151

XC$ 2

Guyana

1155 OR 1166

GUY$ 200 and GUY$ 500

Jamaica

4442452

J$ 25

St Kitts & Nevis

5151

XC$ 1

St Lucia

5151

XC$ 2

St Vincent & the Grenadines

5151

XC$ 1

Suriname

4949

SR$ 0.65

Trinidad & Tobago

5151

TT$ 3

TCI

5151

US$ 1

 

  1. Drop off relief items at any of these locations:

 

  • The Administration Building, UWI Cave Hill Campus, Barbados

  • Open Learning Centre, UWI Open Campus situated on the Cave Hill Campus, Barbados 

  • Any of the 17 UWI Open Campus country sites across the Caribbean

 

For more information on the Rally Round Dominica Celebrity T20 Cricket Match, please contact

 

Amanda Reifer, Academy of Sport, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados 

Tel: 246-417-4545. 

 

Note to the Editor: We invite you to use and follow the official campaign hashtag: #rallyroundDominica 

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About The UWI

 

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a fully-fledged, regional University with over 50,000 students. Today, The UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with three physical campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and an Open Campus. The UWI serves 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos. The UWI’s faculty and students come from more than 40 countries and The University has collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. The UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation.

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

 

Visit: http://www.uwi.edu/.

 

 

 

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