Americas Relief Team hands over generators to Dominica Red Cross

The handing over ceremony took place on Thursday

The Americas Relief Team (ART) on Thursday handed over to the Dominica Red Cross a donation of nine power generating units which will be deployed to various parts of the island for use by government and non-government agencies.

The donation by ART, an initiative of Outreach Aid to the Americas (OAA), is made possible through collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the One Caribbean Strong Program at the Miami Foundation and Express Cargo Inc.

The power generation units had been identified as priority requirements for Barbuda, Antigua’s sister island in the twin-island nation and for Dominica which were ravaged in September by hurricanes Irma and Maria, respectively.

New information from power company, DOMLEC, reveals that 32,762 of its customers remain without power after the passage of Hurricane Maria. The company has a total of 35,606 customers and a total of 2,842, or 7.98 percent, have received power.

In Roseau, 1,350 customers have been connected to the grid while the number in Portsmouth stands at 1,492.

The company’s infrastructure was severely damaged or destroyed by the hurricane.

DOMLEC has said that all customers in Dominica will have access to its grid to facilitate reconnection by April 2018.

In handing over the power units to Kathleen Pinnard-Byrne, Director General of the Dominica Red Cross Society, OAA’s Director of Caricom Outreach, Wesley Kirton said his organization is pleased to assist with the supply of electricity to key institutions such as the PHARCS Home for the elderly, the CHANCES- a home for homeless and abused children and the Dominica Fire and Ambulance Service.

He congratulated the Red Cross for its collaboration with the Dominica government through its national disaster organization in determining the best deployment of the generators noting that not only the need for relief but for resilience is being taken into account.

Kirton also announced that a second shipment of three mobile power units has arrived in the country and is currently being offloaded at the port. He also pledged ART’s assistance with the Red Cross’ efforts to secure solar lamps for distribution to homes around the country. He said that appeals were being made to the Caribbean Diaspora in the US to collaborate with ART in helping the relief and resilience efforts in the region, noting that a generous in-kind donation has been made by Mr. & Mrs. Ramzan Roshanali, owners of Furniture Kingdom in Miami as well as a monetary donation from the Guyana Relief Council of the USA.

Pinard-Byrne, in turn, thanked ART and its partners for the generous donation of the much-needed generators pointing out that this will bring relief and comfort the hundreds of persons who will benefit from the supply of electricity at institutions which serve the poor and underprivileged. She introduced representatives of some of the recipient institutions who were on hand for the handing over.

Dorothy Henderson, chief operating officer of the PHARCS Home for the Elderly said that the generator would serve as tremendous relief at one of her organization’s three facilities, two of which were almost completely destroyed and are presently under reconstruction.

Ava Roach, the representative of Chances, a home for homeless and abused children thanked ART and the Dominica Red Cross for the much needed generator while Deputy Chief Fire Officer Farley Riviere said that the Fire Station at the nation’s lone international airport at Melville Hall would now be assured of a back up source of power when the national grid fails.

Megan Bassford, Logistics Leader of the International Federation of the Red Cross’ Emergency Response Unit (ERU) currently deployed in Dominica who collaborated with ART to ensure the coordination of the delivery of the generators, advised that a representative of each organization/agency to which a generator is assigned will undergo training in the maintenance of the units. She said she has already been in discussion with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) here which conducted training for a number of locals a few weeks ago.

Those who have already been trained will assist with training the representatives of the recipient organizations, Bassford said.

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9 Comments

  1. Missy white
    December 8, 2017

    To put at their home and give dere frens…Red Cross …wicked failure….govarment
    and all those NGOs tht receiving…they lije it so…they wish d season would nevet done…Is 10 million by dere…100 000 by hare…ehhh weh it…they roofless like Maria…stupesssddd

  2. UDOHREADYET
    December 8, 2017

    that lady running the Red Cross needs to do better or get more skilled modern, young assistance. the Red Cross is in a terrible state, the standard is way too low!!! for a Red Cross in a place where disasters occur frequently. there are no links or proper website to donate or to even track where your donations are going. she needs to be be more of a modern individual that can establish relationships with Red crosses across the globe where people in the Diaspora are located so they can donate locally to Dominica.
    Red Cross in Dominica NEEDS to be modernized to meet the needs of the country.
    where are the other Red Cross centers across the Island?

    • Concerned Citizen
      December 8, 2017

      Its better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt ….. seek proper information before you speak smh…..

  3. dee
    December 8, 2017

    Bonjai , Bonjai
    de farmers all getting assistance , they have crops under the ground , that Maria couldnt touch , that they can harvest , they have cows and pigs , maria left behine , they can slaughter , but dem poor suffering fishermen of Karsharkoo have nofing , they cannot go out there in de ocean and kech anyfing , they dow have de means to; some of them dow want to go Red Clinic ; I know one that applying for loan just to be able to get on the sea again.Help dem man nah PM , HELAS, dey dow have nofing nah . .
    Is not like Marigot fishermen dat have secure bay, so their boats and equipment were safe .Some of Dem man lose everyfing wee

  4. December 8, 2017

    What about the hospitals ? are they getting a few ?.

  5. Amarossa
    December 8, 2017

    Solar lamps are useless with all that rain. How is it going to charge?

    • UDOHREADYET
      December 8, 2017

      you have the guts to complain about sun and rain on a tropical Island?
      thats just plain stupidity, be quiet!

      • December 10, 2017

        We must complain its in our nature if they don’t complain they feel left out they cannot just say thanks

  6. Anonymous
    December 8, 2017

    Very welcome. I hope they remain accounted for and are not shanghaied by private interests, or worse still end up on the black market.

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