83 thousand plus for hurricane relief and more to come
About two months ago, we told you about the telethon initiative to raise funds for hurricane victims in the Caribbean that was being led by the Belize City Council and the Council of Churches. Today the group called a short press briefing to give an update on the monies raised and to present the funds to the Red Cross. Andrea Polanco was there and tells us more about the ‘Hands Across the Caribbean’ initiative.
Reverend Roosevelt Papouloute, Belize Council of Churches
Reverend Roosevelt Papouloute
“On behalf of all the organisations who participated in the efforts or raising funds for our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean, especially Dominica and Barbuda, I present this to you.”
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
The Belize Red Cross received more than eighty-thousand dollars for hurricane relief in the Caribbean. The Hands Across the Caribbean initiative held a telethon and received donations from individual and corporate contributions. Mayor Darrell Bradley officially handed over the monies raised.
Darrell Bradley
Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor
“The total amount raised, and this is a growing figure because we recently got confirmation that the Central Bank pledged an additional 15,000 dollars and we are just working out the mechanics to receive that amount. But the total that we are receiving this morning is $83,089.95. And, that is made up of roughly 160 individual pledges. It really warmed our hearts that we saw young people, we saw old people and people who emptied their piggybanks and brought in ten dollars, fifteen dollars, pennies and even large donations.”
The Belize City Council and the Council of Churches collaborated with organizations including the Belize Evangelical Association, Bar Association of Belize, Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers to host the “Hands Across the Caribbean” telethon back in October with one aim – to raise funds for those displaced by hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean in 2017, particularly Dominica and Barbuda.
Reverend Roosevelt Papouloute
“Just a little, I believe, over two months ago we took the initiative to assist our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean, especially in the Eastern Caribbean, who were affected by those hurricanes that really cause so much damages.”
The monies will be channeled to Red Cross International Federation and from there it will be disbursed to areas most in need of relief on affected islands and territories in the Caribbean.”
Lilly Bowman, Secretary General, Red Cross Belize
Lily Bowman
“The federation has been building houses, providing meals and it is not easy getting to some of the places; because apart from the hurricanes, there were landslides that block entire communities from each other and they have been providing relief items and working on health programs with the people. We have not forgotten psychosocial support, it is an ongoing thing. The people are really devastated and they have so many years left for recuperating so this money is going to go a long way. It will be employed where it is most needed at this time.”
