Shirlane
Joseph was just one of the many people left without a home in
Grenada after hurricane Ivan ripped through the Caribbean in
September last year.
Since then the unemployed 36-year-old mother of three young
children has been seeking shelter from the blazing sun and sometimes
torrential rains with neighbours and nearby relatives.
But very soon, Joseph will once again have a home to call her
own.
The Grenada Red Cross (GRC) is currently working with the French
and British Red Cross Societies on a project to help people
rebuild their homes.
This started earlier this year following a galvanized roofing
project where the Red Cross provided aluzinc roofing, ridge
caps and tools to over 1,000 vulnerable families in six parishes
in Grenada.
Hurricane Ivan ripped through the Caribbean last September with
a destructive force unseen in the region in the last ten years.
Dubbed ‘Ivan the Terrible’, the hurricane wreaked
havoc in the tiny islands of Grenada, Tobago, Barbados, St Lucia,
St Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands
before making its way to Cuba and Florida.
The islands that suffered the most damage were Grenada, Jamaica
and the Cayman Islands. The hurricane moved through the region
for more than a week, damaging homes, buildings and infrastructure,
cutting off utilities and caused at least 100 deaths.
Many people were placed at risk from disease, contaminated drinking
water and food shortages. In some areas, flood waters washed
away small communities. The economic impact on these countries
is huge. Grenada suffered the most with 90 per cent of its housing
stock being destroyed, leaving 60,000 homeless.
“I lost everything in the hurricane. My children have
not been able to go to school since because all their uniforms,
school books - everything - were destroyed. I am so glad that
I will soon be able to get a house. I can start to put my life
back in order now,” said Joseph, one of many hurricane-affected
people being assisted by the Red Cross in this retrofitting
exercise, which is funded by the European Union’s Humanitarian
office, ECHO.
Tracey Reines, the International Federation Team Leader in Grenada
said even though the Federation is winding down its operations,
it is still working closely with the Grenada Red Cross, as well
as the French and British Red Cross Societies, to implement
the eight-month roof repair and retrofitting project, which
aims to assist 100 vulnerable home owners.
Reines explained that the home owners will be identified among
those physically unable to rebuild their roof, and who remain
in extremely poor housing conditions. The project will also
provide training and material assistance to 500 home owners
to ensure their homes meet hurricane safety standards involving
retrofitting, wood and the strengthening of walls and foundations.
These 600 households will also be part of the community based
disaster preparedness projects.
The British Red Cross has also started a livelihoods project
which seeks to distribute agricultural materials to 450 small-scale
farmers, to re-establish household food security and stabilize
prices in the local food economy.
“Under this project 450 farmers from St George’s,
St Andrew’s and St Mark’s parishes were selected
taking into consideration factors such as economic vulnerability,
land size, the extent of damage to property and access to income
and employment opportunities,” explained Reines.
Cuthbert John, 56, is one of the recipients in this project.
“After the hurricane all the jobs closed down and we do
not have work anymore. I’m really glad to help plant some
food for myself and my neighbours.”
Terry Charles, GRC Director General said even though they were
finished with the emergency phase of the operation they were
still working on other different programmes which are all aimed
at assisting the most vulnerable in society and preparing communities
for the upcoming hurricane season.
“Even though Grenada is more or less back on its feet
there are some rural villages with no utilities. There are still
a lot of people living in deplorable conditions,” he said.
Charles noted that while there were many non-governmental agencies
on the island to assist people with their homes, the focus was
more on repair than rebuilding. “The GRC, French and British
Red Cross were focusing on rebuilding. We desperately want people
to have a home before this year’s hurricane season.”
Charles said the GRC was also focusing on introducing a number
of disaster preparedness programmes in many of the communities
on the island. They are also trying to reintroduce some of their
existing programmes such as HIV/AIDS, First Aid, and Vulnerability
and Capacity Assessment (VCA).
“We want to sensitise the public on what the Red Cross
is all about while at the same time emphasizing disaster preparedness
at a community level. We are also looking at strengthening our
volunteer base.”
The GRC is also working with the Pan American Disaster Response
Unit (PADRU) to replenish its disaster stocks. It will also
be introducing its Psychosocial Support Programme (PSP) on a
more long-term basis to assist with the emotional needs on the
island.
“One of the things that we have noticed in the PSP is
that volunteers are very welcome in the communities that they
visit. There is still a great need for this programme on the
island as many people are finding it difficult to cope with
everyday life. So we are going to expand this programme while
we strengthen our other programmes,” said Charles.
The GRC Director General said while much has been accomplished
on the island there is still a lot of work to be done in preparation
for the upcoming hurricane season. However, he is confident
that they will be better prepared this time around.
“We have learnt a lot from Ivan and we are preparing ourselves
in the event that there is another hurricane we will be in a
better position than last year.”
|
 |
 |
|
|
Shirlane
Joseph’s home is almost complete and she will soon
be able to move in (p12786)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Red
Cross volunteers conduct assessments in rural villagers
where there are still many people without homes (p12788)
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Cuthbert
John helps Grenada Red Cross volunteers to rebuild his
home, which was destroyed by hurricane Ivan. Cuthbert
is also receiving help to start growing crops again (p12787)
|
|
News
