By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
MAJOR Clarence Ingram, divisional commander for the Salvation Army, said his organisation has not yet distributed non-perishable items to the hurricane ravaged islands because they are waiting for the “initial rush to slow down.”
Major Ingram said the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) asked the group to stockpile items. They will be distributed later, after the influx of donated goods in the wake of the storm has dissipated.
He made his comments while accepting a $50,000 donation from Kelly’s Home Centre on Wednesday afternoon.
“We have been working with NEMA and what we have done is try and coordinate everything through NEMA. Originally they asked us to start collecting food and water and that kind of thing and we have been doing that and then they asked us to hold it until they are ready to transport it to the islands and so we are allowing NEMA to take the lead,” Mr Ingram said.
“In doing so we are looking at the longer term. We realise that there are a lot of people helping right now and there are a lot of things going over there right now, but they are going to need help for quite some time. It seems like right now, from what NEMA is saying, they have sufficient food and supplies at the moment. So when there is a need they will assess what we have and we will take it to them at that time.”
Mr Ingram said the cash donation from Kelly’s would go towards repairing homes and rebuilding communities.
“We would foresee a significant portion of this donation going to rebuild. We would think that there will be a lot of people needing their roofs replaced and clean up their houses and things of that nature. This donation will go directly to the people that need their houses (fixed),” Mr Ingram said.
He added: “The donations have been good so far, but not real big because there are a lot of organisations helping. The contributions are being spread widely through New Providence and because of that we have a manageable amount but it is coming in and we are quite pleased.”
Gregory Kelly, general manager of Kelly’s, said they chose to donate to the Salvation Army because they feel the organisation will be “there for the long haul.”
Hurricane Joaquin ripped through the central and southern Bahamas as a category four storm late last week, damaging homes and buildings, knocking down trees and power lines and causing chest high flooding in some areas.
Prime Minister Perry Christie has said it would cost tens of millions of dollars to recover from the damage.
Comments
John 8 years, 6 months ago
Do not let the controversy over who are seeking donations and what they are doing with them discourage you from making donations to the storm relief effort. It does make one skeptical of donating when you hear that some people may not be reputable or other organizations are discriminating as to how they make distributions of donated goods, but do not let the devil harness your desire to make a donation. If you have doubts about organizations you do not know about, then send your donations to the Red Cross or Salvation Army or even your church But in most instances, those who are involved with hurricane relief for the Southern Bahamas seem genuine, fair minded and sincere. Their desire is to help. So should be yours. I would not donate to an organization that is working under a political umbrella because that suggests separation. Make a donation still!
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID