Ednie Grant, a local resident who lost much of his possessions in Hurricane Matthew, hung his head as he spoke about being unable to feed his family.

"We don't have anything to eat," Grant said.

He tried to speak softly to prevent his three daughters from hearing the fear in his voice.

"There is a lady around the corner who has a bakery," Grant said.

"She sent rolls for us and some grits too.

"But we don't have any money.

"I was already struggling and this made it worse

"I don't know how we are going to recover from this.

"And I don't want to scare them, so I'm not even telling them how bad things are."

Grant is the father of identical twin girls, Azaria and Azarielle Grant, and to 15-year-old Tatiana Grant.

"We lost everything," he said.

Grant dives and does construction work as often as he can to provide for his wife and daughters.

But neither he, nor his wife, has a steady job.

"The landlord said he would work something out with the prime minister and the prime minister is supposed to help him," he continued.

"But we lost everything.

"We lost the little that we had.

"We had an air bed in here and I had them (the twins) floating on the top of that because everything was completely flooded.

"The winds were so strong and the water came rushing in.

"I didn't know what to do but I knew that I had to protect my babies.

From left, 15-year-old Tatiana Grant, her six year old twin sisters Azaria and Azarielle (center) and their father Ednie Grant (right) recall their experiences with Hurricane Matthew in Lowe Sound, North Andros. Second from right is another child who lives in the settlement. (Photo: Jayme C. Pinder)

"All of our clothes, shoes and [everything] you can think of is gone.

"The clothes they have on, those singlets and panties, is all they have left.

"Everything washed away."

Most of the family's food was washed away as well.

The only things that were salvaged were canned goods like tuna, sardines and beans.

Grant said their Social Services card washed away too, so it would be difficult for him to buy anything.

The bits of food that neighbors have been giving to the family are first given to his wife and children.

Grant eats whatever is left.

During the storm, the twins spent hours floating on a small airbed in their family's efficency after four feet of cold seawater flooded the home.

On Wednesday afternoon, the girls played in their little yard filled with debris, including dirty clothes and ruined toys.

When asked about the storm, their playful chatter and frequent laughter quickly came to an end.

They were still visibly shaken by the horror they experienced when the storm battered their little community.

The six-year-olds tried to explain why they believed they were going to die.

"We were scared," they said.

"We thought we [were] going to die."

Little Azaria said, "The water was coming."

"Yes," said Azarielle, "the water was coming in the house.

"We were on the airbed on top of the water.

"Water was everywhere and all of our stuff was in the water."

Tatiana still appeared frightened by what they had experienced.

"We were here in the morning until the storm calmed down," she said as she walked around what remained of her house.

"We were inside and the water started rushing in.

"It was up here."

She pointed to a watermark near the home's entrance.

"There was another bed where we all slept together but we had to throw it away after the flood," she said.

"But we had to put the girls on the airbed because the entire place was flooded.

"The water was way over their little heads and they were crying.

"It was awful, the worst experience ever.

"I thought we all were going to die, too."

A few corners down Mitchell Johnson was also dealing with loss.

While he lost everything inside, his house still stands.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Perry Christie and Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit visited Johnson's home.

The Lowe Sound resident has been retired for over 10 years and has no idea how he will patch things up.

"I have to trust in God on this one," said Johnson, who is a deacon.

"I don't have the kind of money where I can fix this.

"I haven't had a job for 13 years.

"I used to work at Water and Sewerage [Corporation].

"But in spite of what has happened, I believe the government will give us assistance, but we may have to help ourselves.

"...If there is a way, I'll find it so that I can help myself and my family."

Johnson and his wife escaped their home during the storm through a broken kitchen window and swam across the street.

He and his wife have been staying at their daughter's house since then.

Secretary General of CARICOM Irwin LaRocque points out several salvageable canned food items left outside of the Evans Meat Mart in North Andros.

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