Shortly after Hurricane Beryl ripped through the Caribbean this month, the BVI Red Cross joined a regional effort to assist people on the islands devastated by the storm.
Now it is asking for help from the community.
“One of the ways that we are helping is that we launched an appeal where we’re asking persons to donate,” BVIRC Director Stacy Lloyd told the Beacon. “This money is directed to the affected countries to provide the relief they need through cash assistance.”
The initiative — a collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and national organisations representing islands in the Lesser Antilles — is part of a broader IFRC appeal that aims to raise $4.5 million regionally to provide support over the next year to about 25,000 people affected by the storm.
Category Five
Beryl, which was the first hurricane of the year, swept across the Caribbean at the start of the month as an unusually early Category Five storm.
It laid waste to several islands, caused at least nine reported deaths in the region, and lent credence to experts’ previous predictions that this Atlantic Hurricane Season could be one of the worst ever.
The damage was particularly acute in the Grenadines, a chain of small islands split between Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
In those two countries, some 1,600 people are still living in shelters, according to BVIRC Branch Support Officer Steven Persaud.
Other islands affected included Barbados, which lost much of its fleet of fishing boats, and Jamaica, whose southern shore was brushed by Beryl’s eye.
Monetary donations preferred
As the BVIRC works to help, monetary donations are preferred, according to Ms. Lloyd.
“What financial assistance does is it helps you to buy the things that you need,” she said. “You need repair for your roof; you need a fridge; you need a stove. If you are diabetic, your diet is restricted.”
Donated goods, on the other hand, often aren’t as useful as funds because they may not address specific needs, the director explained.
“So if we’re doing canned food drives and you’re sending all this stuff with sodium — and I get it, and I eat it — it’s actually making it worse for me, right?” she said. “You’re compounding the issue.”
Nevertheless, the BVIRC is also accepting some donated goods. But not all contributions are suitable, Mr. Persaud said.
“We don’t want old shoes, clothes or books,” he said. “The priority right now is items like generators, flashlights, sleeping bags and shovels.”
Volunteers are also welcome, Ms. Lloyd said.
Assessments
To ensure that aid is properly distributed in affected countries, the BVIRC’s approach involves conducting thorough assessments, according to the director.
“If you have an organisation come in and do a proper assessment of your home, your health, everything, and based on that they give you financial assistance, you get to get the things that you need,” she explained. “So you’re able to rebuild better, stronger, faster. And it stimulates the economy, because now cash is flowing.”
Mr. Persaud said these assessments also help ensure accountability and transparency for donors and aid recipients alike.
“A lot of the islands are very small communities, and we try to be confidential, but it also shows that we’re making an effort to ensure that relief gets to those who need it the most,” he said.
Data sharing
The Red Cross, he added, often shares broad information about its data, but not the names of the people who receive assistance.
“We want to protect their identity because they’re already vulnerable,” he said.
When assessing a household’s vulnerability, the organisation considers factors such as medical conditions, mental health, income levels, and the presence of children or the elderly, according to Ms. Lloyd.
“We don’t consider residential status,” she said.
“Impartiality is one of our fundamental values. We provide assistance to the vulnerable, but we don’t look at your residential status.”
Red bucket drive
In the VI, the BVIRC is promoting the appeal via channels including radio and social media, Ms. Lloyd said.
“One of the things that we’re also planning on doing is what we call our red bucket drive,” she said. “We’re physically going to be out there with buckets, and we’re just going to go to different popular locations, or locations that have a lot of traffic, and ask persons to give us money.”
Collaboration is also likely with the government and non-governmental organisations in the territory, she added.
“In the past, the government has supported us by transporting supplies to destination countries,” Mr. Persaud said.
The Red Cross also works with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency to help ensure that relief efforts are targeted and efficient, the BVIRC officials said.