The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SHRI R. Masakui, High Commissioner for India to Jamaica, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the British Virgin Island inspected a hurricane shelter under construction in Abaco.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Resident Representative Ava Whyte-Anderson also inspected the site.

Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Myles LaRoda and the executive leadership of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) led the site visit, which also included officials from the Ministry of Disaster Risk Management and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

During the visit, the delegation was given a project brief by project manager Chris Symonette of Chris Symonette and Associates and contractors Wilkem Solutions.

According to the DRA, the Indian government is a significant donor to the project, providing financial support through the UNDP’s multi-country office in Jamaica.

“There’s been a lot of anticipation [leading up to this trip], and we’ve been getting the reports and writeups, but there is nothing like seeing it firsthand, and I couldn’t be more pleased with what I’ve seen,” said High Commissioner Masakui, according to a press release from the government.

The Davis administration said the Indian government’s funding has played a crucial role in the project, which they chose to support as a show of solidarity with Bahamians.

Mr Masakui said: “Although [our countries] are 15,000 km apart, we still remember The Bahamas as our brothers and sisters –– in the name of one world, one family.”

The project has received the delegation’s satisfaction, prompting continued progress despite being only the first instalment of the $1,000,000 donation from the Indian government.

In addition to visiting the Abaco hurricane shelter site, the delegation also visited several storm-damaged homes that the DRA has repaired under its Homeowner Assistance and Relief Programme (HARP) and the debris management site in Spring City, which the contractor has started demobilizing.

The DRA said the shelter is expected to be partially complete and available for use, if needed, by the start of the 2024 hurricane season, and fully completed by the end of 2024.