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said Mr Ruiz from Grand Bahama, where he is based.

“Prior to Dorian we had donated food and water and other supplies in the aftermath of a storm, but this is a long-term relief effort.” In addition to bringing much needed supplies, one of the first things they did was build a field hospital in Grand Bahama since the Rand Hospital had been damaged by the storm.

During the two months that the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Assis- tance Response Team (DART) operated the facility they were able to treat 7,747 patients and conduct 130 surgeries before handing the reins over to the Ministry of Health. They will provide support for the facility through March.

Now, Samaritan’s Purse is equip- ping pastors to hire local contractors to repair houses across the North- ern Bahamas - restoring nearly 400 homes to date through tarping, drywall installation and mould reme- diation, as well as window, door, and roof repairs.

Samaritan’s Purse has also pro- vided more than 100,000 litres of water to designated points and churches around the island each week.

This is essential, not just in the rebuilding efforts, but also in the fight against COVID-19.

“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done even a year later. In Abaco, you can still see destruction and many persons are still without power, and that is because main lines are still down. Grand Bahama got a lot of wind damage as well as flood damage. We will be working on reconstruction well into next year,” said Mr Ruiz.

The team faces another obstacle in the recovery - the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“It has definitely had an impact on our efforts. Our staff is used to dynamic challenges and the need to be flexible in the field, but we have had to adjust to staff members work- ing from home due to the lockdowns. Fortunately, we have a strong team vision and fortunately the Prime Minister allowed for construction in his orders, so we were able to con- tinue our rebuilding efforts,” he said.

Mr Ruiz said the team has seen first-hand the struggle residents have had to face this year between Dorian and COVID-19.

“Grand Bahamians are struggling; it has been a difficult and mentally challenging year given the economic impacts first from Dorian and then due to being on lockdown since March because of the presence of COVID. They have had to adjust to a new normal and the uncertainty of when this will end,” he said.

As September is traditionally peak hurricane season, Mr Ruiz admits that there is cause for concern given the amount of repair work that still needs to be done.

He explained that teams have made substantial repairs to desig- nated hurricane shelters through its Hazard Outreach and Preparedness Empowerment (HOPE) programme.

Samaritan’s Purse workers are partnering with local churches for the church and home repairs, trauma healing support groups, and training local church leaders in disaster pre- paredness, mitigation, and response with a focus on the hope that can be found in Jesus Christ.

“So we are doing what we can to help prepare the community in case of future disaster,” he said.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organisation providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.

Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural dis- asters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love. The organisation serves the worldwide to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ.