Salvation Army presses on with Bahamas relief work
More than two weeks after Hurricane Frances battered the Bahamas, The Salvation Army is still helping people who lost everything.
Grand Bahama, home to 60,000 people, suffered severe flooding and structural and property damage. Many of the island’s residents are still traumatised by the events which have left many homes uninhabitable. Many businesses were destroyed and have had to lay off their employees. This sudden loss of livelihood has further added to the emotional turmoil of many Grand Bahamians.
The Salvation Army in Freeport, led by Captains Chris and Rhonda Matthias, was one of the first centres to respond to the crisis. Even in the midst of Frances’s torrential rains and cyclonic winds, The Salvation Army’s 35-seater bus, manned by Bahamas Defence Force soldiers, helped rescue people from their flooded homes. Immediately after the storm The Salvation Army, designated by the government as an official relief agency, began to distribute food and water to storm-weary residents.
During the first day of distribution 1,000 persons were registered and given basic food supplies and water. By the end of the first week of distribution, this figure had risen to more than 3,100. Families were registered and given supplies according to their households' size and needs. Parcels included bottled water, foodstuffs (corned beef, sardines, rice, tuna, flour, peaches, sugar, potatoes, milk powder and fruit) and, where needed, supplies for families with babies and small children (disposable nappies/diapers, baby food and baby formula). Clothing, cleaning materials, candles and plastic sheeting were also distributed.
One woman had driven miles and had stood in line for several hours before finally reaching the makeshift table to be registered. When asked what her immediate needs were she replied, in a tearful whisper, 'All I need is drinking water. Nothing else. Just some water to drink.'
Thousands of parcels were distributed by day and several hundred hot meals went out by night.
Since most food stores were sold out immediately before the hurricane and others were too damaged or destroyed to reopen afterwards, the need for food and drinking water was obvious. Salvation Army centres quickly exhausted their food resources and were grateful that the government’s command centre and the Ministry of Social Services, along with private companies and individuals, made foodstuff and water available to The Salvation Army for distribution. Locally-generated donations enabled US$14,000-worth of supplies and food vouchers to be distributed. Food supplies and drinking water were dispatched from Salvation Army centres in southern USA.
The news media have shifted to other areas but the suffering of the people continues. The Army’s immediate goal continues to be to supply essentials. Captain Matthias reports, 'Food distribution will continue on a large-scale basis for another two to three weeks. We also plan to supply families with food vouchers as supermarkets are becoming operational again.'
Captain Mike McKee, International Emergency Field Operations Officer, reports: 'In the longer term, The Salvation Army will focus its relief efforts on needy families within the community. But resources are now depleted and funds are needed to purchase more cleaning materials, mattresses and bedding, stoves and small gas cylinders for cooking, battery operated lamps and school books. The Caribbean islands have been severely hit in recent days and donations to our Caribbean Relief Fund are urgently needed.'