DOMINICA HURRICANE UPDATE – FINAL REPORT (February 2019)
WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT ALL OF OUR DOMINICA PROGRAMS ARE NOW COMPLETE ● On January 10th we celebrated the opening of Morne Prosper Primary and Pre School with over 150 people in attendance. See here and here for press articles on the event. ● On January 18th we celebrated the opening of Charlotte’s Pre School; a colourful event enjoyed by all! See press article here. ● On January 19th we completed our final roof (number 33!) and our two local roofing trainees were presented with certificates of achievement. DISASTER PROFILE Regarded as the worst natural disaster on record in Dominica, Hurricane Maria made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on September 18, 2017 with winds over 160 mph. Hurricane Maria left Dominica completely devastated, damaging tens of thousands of buildings, all power, water and telecoms, and obliterating 100% of agriculture – a major source of income. Damages and losses are estimated at USD $1.3m, or 224% of Dominica’s GDP. OUR WORK All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response has focused its efforts in Dominica on rebuilding schools and repairing residential roofs. Having completed our first project in August 2018 - rebuilding Paix Bouche Primary and Pre School in St. Andrew Province - we then moved onto rebuilding Morne Prosper Primary and Pre School in St. George Province. This was completed in January 2019, alongside our fifth school project - Charlotte’s Pre School in Newtown. During this time, we also completed 33 residential roofs and rehabilitated a local community water source. At the center of our work were Build Back Better techniques to make the schools and roofs resistant against future hurricanes and earthquakes. Working closely with the Ministry of Education, other NGOs, the schools and the local communities, this essential work has created much safer homes and more appropriate learning environments, which also serve as evacuation shelters for the surrounding communities.
Mini Creole Fest with the community at our base Visit to a local community farm in Morne Prosper
Thank you to everyone who helped make the Dominica Projects a success!
Click here to see our wrap up video !
OUR IMPACT
3
SCHOOLS COMPLETE
27
ROOFS COMPLETE
135
VOLUNTEERS
3,948
VOLUNTEER DAYS
Why we do what we do… “Being on site every day, sweating, laughing, crying; in the beginning you are not sure if you hate it or love it. This kind of work takes a lot from you and gives you everything you need at the same time. When you have your first mini-breakdown, when you think there is no way that you can lift another cinder block, when you think the next hammer swing is not gonna break the rock but yourself there is always one thing you can be sure of: every single person around you holds your back. Once you realize that, you start liking it. And then you meet the locals. The warmth they welcome you with, the immense gratefulness they have for your work and the love they share with you. Once you feel that -- you love it. That's what makes roofing very special for me. It gives you the opportunity to get to know the locals personally, to dive into their lives, to be part of their family and then to give them their homes back. There is no better feeling in the world.” Anna Frisch, 24, from Germany (longterm volunteer, then Associate Project Coordinator in training).
OUR MISSION To effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. By listening to local people, and deploying a unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, we rebuild safe, resilient schools, homes and other community infrastructure.
OUR DOMINICA PARTNERS
5 YEARS IN A ROW! Only 10% of charities have received at least 5 consecutive 4-star ratings. This means All Hands and Hearts outperforms most of the other 1.5 million charities in America in operational and financial efficiency.
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For additional information: Ellie Griffies-Weld, Partnership Manager ellie.gw@allhandsandhearts.org www.allhandsandhearts.org