Local and foreign donors pledge aid
As the plight of thousands of Belizeans in the Stann Creek and Toledo districts is broadcast daily by the national media, many agencies, corporations and individuals at home and abroad, continue to donate aid to the victims of Hurricane Iris. On Monday, Fortis Incorporated, majority owners of Belize Electricity Limited, handed over fifty thousand Belize dollars to the Belize Red Cross Society. According to society representative, Audrey Courtenay, the money will be used in the rural areas in South Stann Creek for food, shelter and relief supplies. B.E.L. is also working with representatives of the Caribbean Utilities Company, electricity provider in the Cayman Islands and the Instituto Nacional de Electricidad, INDE, the government utility company in Guatemala, to restore power to the affected areas as fast as possible. The three man technical team from Guatemala arrived on Saturday with a specialised utility truck to install poles. The crew from Cayman, six linemen and their leader, landed in Belize earlier today to join the Belizean crews which have been working non-stop since Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, another corporate citizen, Belize Telecommunications Limited has announced that it will be paying for the construction of twelve houses; six to be built in Seine Bight and six in the village of Bella Vista. B.T.L. has also donated food supplies, blankets, tents and barbecue grills to families in the south.
Other companies have also been sending supplies. The Santiago Castillo Group in conjunction with several international suppliers have donated approximately fifty thousand dollars in food items, and other necessities like baby diapers. On the international scene, Belizean diplomats lobbying for support have raised an initial forty-five thousand U.S. dollar emergency aid package from the Organization of American States. This morning, Belize’s Ambassador, Lisa Shoman, accepted the donation from the OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria and the Pan American Development Foundation on behalf of the hurricane victims. The package includes tents, blankets, rolls of plastic sheeting, personal hygiene kits, kerosene lanterns, water purification supplies, and electric generators. In addition, P.A.D.F. has also pledged fifteen thousand dollars from Chevron-Texaco in roofing, building materials and food. The supplies will be shipped to Belize shortly.
