The Belize Red Cross is implementing a project in 14 communities including Ambergris Caye called “Saving lives in the Caribbean through Preparedness.” The main goal of the project is to target those 14 communities and have them prepared in the long term for disaster. It seeks to reduce the number of deaths, injuries and socio-economic impact from climate change and other related disaster in the communities. Within the scope of the project, it seeks to implement a community disaster response team that would help mitigate assistance before, during, and after a disaster before a larger assistance is rendered.
Project Manager Kerstin Heinze said that project looks at several activities within the entire community. Heinze explained that the project will give them the opportunity to look at the community’s “capacity, vulnerably and do a disaster simulation to see how the community respond to disaster. At the end we want community members to be aware of the risks and help them to plan actives for the reduction of vulnerability and increase capacity even before a disaster happens. We will also indentify needs and implement micro-projects to make San Pedro better prepare for a disaster.”
The project runs for a little over a year, up to September 2013, but is intended to have the community members actively involved the Red Cross in the longer run. Eight communities from the Belize and seven from the Stann Creek districts are involved in the project which is sponsored by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is being supervised by the American Red Cross Regional office. The project will require community volunteerism to see it materialized. Anyone wishing to be involved can get in contact with Lorie Norton at the Island Galaria.
