Roseau, Dominica, 15th August 2018 – Residents of three villages in Dominica will soon have the use of a key community building severely damaged by hurricane Maria last year.
The multi-purpose council building located in Soufriere and which also served the villages of Scotts Head and Gallion was the focal meeting point in the community for over two decades before Maria roared in and destroyed it.
Regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean through its charitable arm, the FirstCaribbean ComTrust Foundation, recently approved a grant of USD$35, 472 (E.C$95,864.85) for the rebuilding of the facility which also served as the venue for workshops, seminars, public meetings, outreach programmes and health clinics.
“This project received the unanimous support of the Trustees of our ComTrust Foundation. We were touched by how much our region was affected by the two devastating hurricanes the region experienced in 2017 and we are acutely aware that the rebuilding continues even as another hurricane season has started. We are privileged to be able to participate in the rebuilding,” said the bank’s Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the ComTrust Foundation, Gary Brown.
“We committed over US $550,000 for the response to the hurricanes that affected our region last year. Up to $100,000 of that was for Dominica’s response. But the work of our Foundation is not defined only in terms of how much we give, but also what we are able to achieve to enrich our communities. We are immensely pleased to support this project, which will benefit the people of these three deserving communities,” Mr. Brown added.
Country Head in Dominica, Stephen Lander said the residents of Soufriere, like those all across Dominica, have shown great resilience and community spirit as they have sought to rebuild their lives and communities after the devastation of hurricane Maria.
“CIBC FirstCaribbean is happy to join with the residents of Soufriere, Scotts Head and Gallion in restoring a very vital part of their community. We are not just assisting in the restoration of a building but more importantly, we see this effort as strengthening and rebuilding a sense of community,” Mr. Lander added.
He said that work will start shortly on the project and was expected to be completed within three to four weeks.
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