BAHAMAS HURRICANE RELIEF UPDATE JANUARY 2020
TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT
1081 229
LIVES IMPACTED
VOLUNTEERS
2700
VOLUNTEER DAYS
67
JOBS COMPLETED
Current Situation We have almost completed our work on St. Francis de Sales School, with some interior tasks outstanding. We hope to be welcoming the students back to this part of the campus by mid February. Our base is relocated next to the campus of Every Child Counts in Marsh Harbour. The staff and volunteers performed an impressively smooth base move and are settling in well. We are excited to move in to our sprung structure in late January, which will accommodate the high volume of volunteers who have applied. Our volunteers are helping in many areas of the community. Whether it’s helping to cook 10,000 meals through World Central Kitchen or assisting with stabilizing the stray cat and dog population, they are making a huge impact. In fact, the team of staff and volunteers raised $94,000 in December that goes directly to the work in The Bahamas. Our primary focus has been on schools and homes — we’re at different stages of work in seven schools and we’re ramping up the number of homes on Abaco. Check out the powerful story of the community’s ongoing transformation here.
Volunteer Voices “These people are dealing with a lot of pain, many are emotionally distraught. They have a very large need still. But they still laugh. They still smile. They still thank us. They still are glad to be here.” - Dana Tarno-Gerken, AHAH Volunteer
Learn about our programs at
allhandsandhearts.org
Disaster Profile On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane in The Bahamas with wind speeds in excess of 185mph, lashing the Bahamian islands of Great Abaco (pop. ~17,200) and Grand Bahama (pop. ~51,000). After striking The Bahamas, Dorian’s travelling speed slowed to 1 mph over Grand Bahama, prolonging the island’s exposure to life-threatening storm surge of 18-23 feet above normal tide levels. Over 76,000 people have been affected and 10,000 children displaced from schools. Dorian is the strongest hurricane on record for The Bahamas and tied a record for the strongest Atlantic hurricane to make landfall.
Our Work With immense support from our local and global partners, we were able to arrive early and stay late in The Bahamas. We’re committed to performing continuous work for the next two years, with an immediate focus on response capacity in some of the hardest-hit areas. Our long-term recovery program will target reconstruction in schools and critical community infrastructure (e.g. health clinics).
About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure. We have earned a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator six years in a row and a Perfect 100. Less than one percent of rated nonprofits have received this distinction for financial and operational efficiency. :
Our Partners in The Bahamas
info@allhandsandhearts.org