Barbados Red Cross appeal raises over $200 000

AN appeal by the Barbados Red Cross Society to assist neighbouring islands devastated during last year’s hurricane season has raised Bds$250 000.

Word of this comes from President of the Barbados Red Cross Society, Winston Waithe.

He said that although the appeal ended in November with $200 000 raised, the generosity continued.

“We transferred in November $200 000 of the funds raised from the appeal, and even though the appeal closed that month, funds continued to come in December, which totalled another $50 000… The appeal in Barbados raised about Bds$250 000, which we transferred to the International Federation of the Red Cross to assist those affected by the hurricanes,” he revealed on the sidelines of a recent donation of emergency equipment from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Barbados.

“We tried to get an idea of the effects that each individual country had, and we would have asked the Federation to apportion those funds to the various national societies affected, especially Dominica, Barbuda and Turks & Caicos Islands.”

Irma, a category 5 hurricane, the most powerful ever recorded over the Atlantic, wreaked havoc on many of the Caribbean islands, with maximum sustained winds of 296 km/h and deadly waves.

Irma was swiftly followed by Hurricane Jose, which affected Antigua and Barbuda. And just days later, Hurricane Maria threatened areas affected by Irma and Jose – gaining force and had a devastating effect on Dominica and Puerto Rico.

Recognising that the hurricane season starts June 1 and forecasters predict that 2018 will be just as busy as last year, the Barbados Red Cross is wasting no time preparing.

According to Waithe, “In preparation, we are in the process of getting our inventory list and we would be trying to bring our stock back up as the hurricane season is very quickly approaching.

“The prediction is that we expect quite a number of named hurricanes this year and we are hoping that wouldn’t happen, but we want to be prepared if it does happen.”

The President, also disclosing that the International Federation of the Red Cross, Americas Zone Office, located in Panama, is looking to position supplies closer to the Caribbean, explained, “After a hurricane and you are bringing supplies from far away, it is going to be more difficult to get it to those affected places. We recognise that Barbados is strategically positioned – lots of international flights come through, shipping, etc. So, if there is devastation in any of the islands, they have recognised that it is easier to get it from either Trinidad or Barbados.” (TL)