(WSVN) - Santa surprised some children in the Bahamas with an early visit ahead of Christmas.
Many families are still recovering from the devastating damage left behind by Hurricane Dorian, but thanks to a Fort Lauderdale seaplane charter, children on the island nation were still able to celebrate the holidays.
Santa’s sled came in the form of a small Tropic Ocean Airways plane that landed in Great Harbour Cay.
The children at R.N. Gomez All Age School were able to meet with Saint Nick who came with presents in his big red bag.
“It was a wonderful flight,” said Santa, “nice and smooth all the way.”
As soon as he was spotted, children ran up to greet him.
“Hello, everybody! Ho, ho, ho!” Mr. Claus said.
Nearly 24 students at the school are survivors of Hurricane Dorian.
“The whole company looks forward to it every year,” said Skylar Bristow with Tropic Ocean Airways. “To be out here, to see these kids and to see Santa and see how happy everybody is with smiles on their faces make it all worth it.”
Student Alyssa Sineus was sleeping at home in the Abacos when the storm hit.
“I woke up, got dressed and the minute I left my room the window came in,” said Sineus. “After that, everything just went down.”
Her family left their destroyed home and relocated to Great Harbour Cay.
“There are some people that are still dealing with all that trauma. They lost their children, their parents, so for me, I’m happy to be able to spend this time with everybody,” said Sineus.
She said it’s a new start to make new traditions with new friends.
“It’s better than what most have, so I’m grateful for it,” said Sineus.
Father Don Haynes, who is in charge of the school, said many families fled to Great Harbour Cay and now call the island home.
“Doing this not only impacts the whole school but specifically those kids who have been part of that horrendous storm that they had to experience,” said Haynes. “There will always be storms in our lives, but if we could just get through them and work together, we can rebuild.”
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