Waves for Water helping Irma victims in Caribbean

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — “I was incredible worried, know that she was still down there and I was up here. I wish I had been able to be down there with her during this devastation,” Taylor Barrett said.

She describes how she felt as Hurricane Irma hit the U.S Virgin Islands and impacted her mother, Cacki Taylor.

“It was super hard to contact her. I lost contact at about 11 a.m. on Wednesday and didn’t get a text from her until Friday. Then after that, it wasn’t until a few days later that I was able to get on the phone with her,” Barrett said.

Waves for Water is an organization that provides clean water and supplies to communities in need, like the Caribbean Islands. They held a fundraiser at Waterman’s Brewing Company on Thursday night and Ben Bourgeois is heading down Friday to help.

“It means a lot to me to get to go down their to the islands. I mean obviously I want to see some friends that have been affected really badly by this. But it’s just awesome. I have the opportunity and the time right now that I can actually go down and hopefully make a difference,” Ben Bourgeois, a waves for water member, said.

Barrett splits her time between Asheville and St. Thomas in the U.S Virgin Islands. Hearing about Waves for Water’s efforts brought her some relief.

“I’m very thankful that there is an organization in Wilmington that is going to the Caribbean to help out the affected. It makes me very happy that people are actually caring about this and that we weren’t just some little blurb on the news but actually that people care about us,” Barrett said.

Waves for Water’s first stop, “Our first phase, we’re directed at the Virgin Islands, both U.S and British,” Bourgeois said.

So Barrett’s mom could soon get some help.

To help out Waves for Water click here and to help out Barrett’s mom click here.