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April 3-9, 2020 facebook.com/FloridaCatholic
FLORIDA NEWS
Miami delegation sees a tale of two islands as Hurricane Dorian recovery hits six- month mark
TOM TRACY
Florida Catholic correspondent
MARSH HARBOUR, Abaco Six months after Hurricane Dorian battered the northern Bahama islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, the needs there have shifted to building materials. The focus is more on this as the next stage of recovery," particularly in Grand Bahama, said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, CEO of Miami's Catholic Charities. He noted the Nassau Archdiocese recently updated its wish-list of donation items to include drywall and other products associated with helping residents of the Bahamas dry-in, de-muck and de-mold" their homes. Nassau Archbishop Patrick Pinder personally led a delegation of senior staff from the Archdiocese of Miami's Catholic Charities through Nassau, Grand Bahama and Great Abaco Island Feb. 19-21. The delegation included Routsis-Arroyo, Msgr. Roberto Garza, Catholic Charities' board chairman, and Marco Greenslade, the agency's director of finance. Waiting for a flight back to Florida following the tour, Routsis- Arroyo said he saw two largely different post-disaster scenarios unfolding in the Bahamas. A special Hurricane Dorian appeal throughout the Catholic community of south Florida has to date generated some $700,000 for Hurricane Dorian relief in the Bahamas, relief that is being coordinated with the Archdiocese of Nassau. The deadly hurricane struck the northern Bahamas in early September 2019 and left thousands homeless. We have sent moveable trailers over that are positioned in (Freeport) Grand Bahama, and we have been sending ongoing supplies - a good reason for coming out here was to see where we are six months out and where the needs are," Routsis-Arroyo said. Initially, the need was for core elements people need to live: food, water and cleaning supplies, he noted. Now the focus will shift to providing building supplies. He added that donors to the hurricane collection have been extremely generous, not just individuals but also several private foundations. Supplies included foodstuffs, air mattresses, roofing materials and cleaning supplies. Everything they have provided will go back 100% into this recovery, with some being utilized to help Bahamas evacuees in Miami, as well. We are trying to help the archbishop and Caritas there in the long run, and will continue to raise the funds for them," Routsis-Arroyo said. In Freeport, the trailers of donations are situated at Mary, Star of the Sea Parish, which has become a kind of community resource for Grand Bahama following the storm. Abaco, on the other hand, having been dealt a more severe blow from Dorian, is facing a more fragile recovery and extended period of rebuilding. What you see in Grand Bahama was a typical disaster hurricane recovery effort through a Catholic Charities and a local parish, where they are reaching out and seeing what the needs of the local community are," Routsis-Arroyo said. In Abaco, "that kind of structure no longer exists, so that is the challenge," he said. "There are people slowly coming back, so it is very different from a normal disaster recovery type effort." Routsis-Arroyo compared Dorian's impact in the Bahamas to what he saw following Hurricanes Katrina or Irma. What I saw in Abaco today is what you would see in the immediate aftermath of a storm," Routsis-Arroyo said. "We are still seeing clean up, and short of search and rescue, they are not really beyond that stage. But you also can see that little by little things are coming back: electrical wiring is going back up, they are drying-
Catholic Charities CEO: Building materials a priority for Bahamas
MIAMI Thanks to material and financial assistance from around the world - including some $700,000 collected in south Florida parishes last year - Caritas Antilles is aiding a wider hurricane recovery project in The Bahamas, adding to the work being done by the Archdiocese of Nassau, its parishes, schools and communities. Caritas reports it has: Completed minor home repairs in 75 houses. Broken ground and begun foundations, in partnership with Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute, for two affordable core homes in East Grand Bahama. Through discussions with community leaders, two sites/households have been selected for construction. Begun rolling out a media campaign to raise awareness about mental health issues in the community, in partnership with International Medical Corps and the Grand Bahama Health Services. A Resilience Center that will offer community wellness and recreation activities, targeted group therapy sessions, and one-on-one counseling for residents of Grand Bahama, in response to the trauma incurred from the storm. Community events to support social and emotional well-being, as outreach activities of the forthcoming Resilience Center. Actively in meetings with the Disaster Recovery Authority, that a government housing repairs assistance program that was launched Feb. 10, 2020, take into consideration how to assist the most vulnerable households.
CARITAS IN BAHAMAS COMPLETES
75 HOME REPAIRS
Peter Routsis-Arroyo, right, CEO of Miami's Catholic Charities, visits a Caritas home rehab program near Freeport, Grand Bahama, following last year's Hurricane Dorian. Miami Catholic Charities senior staff made a post-Hurricane Dorian tour of key locations Feb. 19-21, 2020, with Nassau Archbishop Patrick Pinder.
in some homes. There is true devastation here."
CARITAS PARTNERSHIP
In Grand Bahamas, a new partnership between the Nassau Archdiocese and Caritas Antilles is accelerating home refurbishment and mental health programming at so-called resiliency centers for that island. Six months later it's great to see a visible presence there, whether that's through a resiliency center or the home repairs programs or the two young vibrant priests at (Mary, Star of the Sea Parish) who have connections with everybody in the area, whether those other people are Catholic or not," Routsis-Arroyo said. You can see the work that is being done and some of the stewardship of the funds that we have sent. (They) are being put to work there on a daily basis," he added, something that should make donors and Catholics alike feel good about the support we are providing." Archbishop Pinder told the Miami delegation that rebuilding in Abaco is complicated by lack
Kesheia Morris, a projects officer for the minor repairs program, discusses details of a Caritas home rehab project near Freeport, Grand Bahama, following last year's Hurricane Dorian. On the right are Msgr. Roberto Garza, board chairman for Catholic Charities Miami, and Nassau Archbishop Patrick Pinder, far right.
of electricity, water, adequate housing and a work force. But the archbishop said he is committed to rebuilding a church in Treasure Cay and St. Francis de Sales School. What is different in Abaco from Grand Bahama is the fact that you had an entire island that basically had to be abandoned, whereas in other cases you knew people were coming back. When you've lost everything will you come back? The rebuild will mean new people coming in," Routsis-Arroyo said. Some larger questions remain for governmental agencies to decide, but "I do see a role for general contractors and volunteers with experience in housing repairs. There will be opportunities here to help with the rebuild," he added. You have to look at this short term, several years out and five and six years out. It's great to be able to plan but some of this means you have to be flexible enough to react to what's going on: Who's coming back? Is it families, is it vacationers, and who is it the Church will eventually be serving?"
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To donate to the Hurricane Dorian relief fund, go to www.ccadm.org.
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