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OXFORD, Miss. — As Hurricane Dorian makes its way to the United States, The Bahamas shifts its focus from bracing for the storm to recovering from its aftermath.

Head Ole Miss woman’s basketball coach and native of The Bahamas Yolett McPhee-McCuin is raising money to relieve her home country.

McPhee-McCuin said she felt powerless as she watched weather coverage last week of Hurricane Dorian slowly building up and then destroying parts of her former home.

“It was the worst feeling ever,” she said. “I’m probably going to do some type of counseling because the information was on overload.”

The scariest part for her was that while Hurricane Dorian was sitting over the island for 36 hours straight, she was helpless, hundreds of miles away and completely unable to contact her friends and family.

“With my family, friends, anybody on the island, eventually they started to get back online, but when they got back online, some people were saying they were fine, but some people were desperately calling for help,” she said.

Now the head women’s basketball coach at a major university, “Coach Yo” is taking that same spirit and drive the she and the lady rebels use on the court and starting a fundraiser to help the relief effort. She knows there is no shortage of ways for people to get involved, but she couldn’t sit on the bench as other groups led the way.

“When this hit, and I felt like I had the platform to, one, spread awareness, and two, give back, I had to jump on the opportunity,” McPhee-McCuin said. “This is the place I was born and raised.”

She knows it will take millions of dollars and years of time before her country is whole again, but as a proud Bahamian, she’s doing her part.

“No amount is too small,” she said. “The other day I got a $9 donation, and I felt the same way when I got the thousand-dollar donation. Just grateful for it all.”

McPhee-McCuin set up a GoFundMe for anyone who would like to donate to the cause.

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