Hurricane Matthew made a direct impact to New Providence, the Berry Islands, Andros and Grand Bahama. These four places are now in varying states of disorder.

The storm grew to Category 4 status with maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. Its winds and storm surge destroyed homes and businesses, also significantly damaging critical infrastructure.

None of these islands is close to back to normal. It will takes months for that to happen. Prime Minister Perry Christie estimates damage caused by Matthew could be as much as four times greater than the $100 million in damage caused by Hurricane Joaquin to our central and southern islands last October.

The communities of Lowe Sound, Andros and West End, Grand Bahama are particularly in crisis.

Willie Farrington of Lowe Sound recalled on Saturday to reporters how he, his wife, his four- and seven-year-old daughters and his sister-in-law were trapped in their home for three hours waiting for the storm to pass.

"Never in my life have I seen anything like this before," he said. "I actually watched the ocean; it was like the ocean was coming straight through us. Judgment Day ran through my mind.

"The ceiling fell on my four year old and the water started coming up about four feet. I had to put both of my daughters in the ceiling.

"I had to burst the window open for the water to flow free. My biggest fear the whole time was the water, and not for me, for my kids actually."

On Saturday in West End, Sherica Smith sat in tears looking at the home she was born and raised in. It was the first day she had been back since the day before Matthew.

"We just came here this morning, and everything was everywhere; all kind of mud and everything; we lost everything," is all she could say as she tried to hold back tears.

"I grew up here; born and raised here; and our little business over there, it's wiped away. It was a conch business. We used to sell pickled conch and conch salad and other stuff.

"All of this, I wasn't expecting all of this. I don't even know where to start. I'm so weak, I can't do anything because I didn't sleep for four days."

These stories are multiplied across communities in the islands affected. The government and aid agencies are now working to deliver basic necessities to many in desperate need.

In New Providence, this was our first direct hit from a major hurricane since 1929. Electricity remains off to half the island. Some residents of southern New Providence lost everything when the storm surge came in.

While the government and aid agencies will lead the way in response, we who came out of the storm in reasonable shape must find ways to help those in crisis. We did after Hurricane Joaquin. Citizen groups and small civic organizations stepped up and delivered goods and services. That effort is needed again on a larger scale.

Donate, volunteer, visit, take in, do what you can to be part of the solution. Do not sit on the sideline and criticize the government for what you think it should be doing when you are not getting involved.

These will be difficult times for The Bahamas. We are in recession. There is high unemployment. Our debt levels rose significantly since the financial crisis of 2008.

Tough decisions will have to be made by the government when it comes to expenditure. But first, we must work together to get our people food, shelter and the basics. We all have a part to play in this effort.

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