Mr. M. Foster Rogers, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, was among Government representatives of islands impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 who received proceeds of funds raised at last year’s T20 Benefit Cricket Match in Barbados. The event was hosted by The University of the West Indies in collaboration with Sagicor and Flow Sports. Proceeds were to go towards the rebuilding of hospitals and schools in the affected Caribbean countries.
The passage of Hurricane Irma resulted in unprecedented infrastructural and equipment damage at the Princess Alexandra Hospital which ultimately impacted services post Hurricane Irma. The hospital continues to operate in emergency/urgent mode to present day.
On Friday June 1, 2018, a handover ceremony was held at The UWI, Cave Hill Campus where officials from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands and Dominica received portions of the funds raised at the Rally Round the West Indies Celebrity T20 Cricket Hurricane Irma/Maria Relief Benefit which was held last November at the 3Ws Oval at The UWI Cave Hill Campus. The handover ceremony which returned the hosts and the beneficiaries to the scene of the special celebrity match was attended by Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles and Dr. Stephen McNamara, Chairman of the Sagicor Financial Corporation, among other senior leadership of both institutions.
Sagicor Financial Corporation enlisted as platinum sponsor for the relief benefit match and Flow Sports acted as a major sponsor offering live broadcast of the game on its networks. In addition to its presence as a major sponsor of the benefit match, Sagicor donated U$100,000 to the fundraising drive. This partnership with businesses in the regional private sector was just one initiative of a larger two-phased approach to response efforts by The UWI. Phase 1 or the “rapid response” phase was largely concentrated on the deployment of relief aid and experts to assist in the areas of greatest need as identified by the impacted states (including for example, infrastructure, housing, agriculture, tourism, and psychosocial counselling). This phase was completed working closely with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), as well as Heads of Governments. Phase 2, or the “recovery and rehabilitation phase”, focuses on the mobilisation of funding and expertise to assist in the restoration of these affected islands—with special priority, from The UWI perspective, on the sectoral areas of education and healthcare.
The Governments receiving the funding, indicated that the donations will support restructuring and rebuilding efforts in the areas of health and education, with these projects to be specifically impacted:
• Anguilla: the purchase of an Intravenous Infusion Pump and two Vital Signs Monitor for the Princess Alexandra Hospital, which operates under the Health Authority of Anguilla.
• Antigua and Barbuda: the outfitting of the Holy Trinity Primary School in Barbuda with furniture and other school equipment.
• British Virgin Islands: contributing to the rebuilding and outfitting of the Elmore Stoutt High School, specifically equipment, such as photocopiers, computers, printers etc.
• Dominica: financing the replacement of ICT equipment needed to re-equip all labs at secondary schools especially to facilitate online examinations.
Dr. Stephen McNamara, Chairman of Sagicor recognized the partnership between Sagicor and The University of the West Indies saying, “The benefits of this partnership have resulted in Sagicor’s donation of US$100,000 which will impact many lives in the Caribbean.”
Dr. McNamara also took the opportunity to encourage individuals and families who are preparing for the Hurricane Season to include thoughts about insurance to assist in their protection. He said, “As an insurer it would be remiss of me to not point out that by our estimate a relatively small percentage of properties are insured throughout the Eastern Caribbean. This risk can be easily planned for by any individual and I urge those not insured to immediately seek out a solution.”
In his remarks, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, the Vice-Chancellor of The University of the West Indies emphasized the special vulnerabilities of the Caribbean and the need to strengthen its resilience. He reaffirmed The UWI’s commitment as CARICOM’s largest single diversified reservoir of competences and expertise to be on frontline of the charge to resilience, championing the cause of resilient development in the Caribbean, in partnership with all major stakeholders—public and private.
He stated, “Our university, as I have repeatedly said, was not built to serve itself, but rather, to serve the people of the Caribbean. In this regard, The UWI continues to be hands-on in its support to these, our member countries to assist in their recovery projects.”
In his acceptance remarks the Permanent Secretary thanked the UWI and Sagicor for their commitment to the development of the region, and for their foresight in arranging the Rally Round the West Indies Celebrity T20 Cricket Hurricane Irma/Maria Relief Benefit geared at assisting the countries who were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
