A Grenadian resident living in Bermuda has appealed to Bermudians to continue helping his countrymen rebuild his country, describing the situation in Grenada as "appalling".

Stanley Francis, who has lived in Bermuda for almost 22 years, returned to Grenada to help his mother rebuild her home which was damaged by Hurricane Ivan last September. "The rest of the world would think that four months after the hurricanes, the people would have picked up the pieces and life would be back to normal, but it's not," he said. He said conditions were difficult with the majority of houses still had no roofs, electricity had only been returned to about 75 percent of the Island and most children could not return to school as these buildings had still not been repaired.

"There are some schools that have started teaching children in tents, but the conditions are very poor," he said.

He added that while food was available on the Island, local foodstuffs were not and had to be flown in from St. Vincent or Trinidad which made them expensive.

"Some of the things actually doubled in price," he said. He added that communications like telephones to most of the Island were still non-existent and residents had to resort to using mobile phones, which were very expensive.

"I know that all eyes are turned to South Asia and the terrible situation there, but I can tell you that Grenada is no different. The conditions are terrible and these people need help," he said. He's appealing to local organisations and members of the public to continue helping Grenada. "I was there two weeks ago and it rained so hard inside the house that the tarpaulin would crash down under the weight of the water. If you tried using a pole to keep it lifted, you'd end up poking a hole in it and that almost made it worse," he said. Mr. Francis hopes to return to Grenada in August.