by Linda Straker
- Grenada to benefit from €450,000 EU humanitarian aid
- Almost 100% of housing stock damaged or destroyed on Carriacou and Petite Martinique had
- Funding available via ECHO department of European Commission
Grenadians affected by the impact of Hurricane Beryl, which battered Grenada on 1 July, are to benefit from €450,000 in humanitarian aid from the European Union (EU). That funding is to be shared with St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Residential and commercial properties in the north, as well as parts of the eastern and western sides of the island, were affected. Almost 100% of the housing stock on the Grenadines islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, which fall under the administration of Grenada, was damaged or destroyed. Most of the residents of these islands are currently in emergency shelters.
“In response to the impact of Hurricane Beryl in the Lesser Antilles, the EU has approved humanitarian aid to help address the most urgent needs of the affected populations in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines,” said a news release from the European Commission office in Barbados.
The EU funding is being made available via the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) department of the European Commission. “The funding will provide assistance to the most vulnerable people affected,” said the release, which explained that the funding would be used for cash assistance, water, sanitation and hygiene, food items, and other basic needs, among other things.
This new funding comes in addition to the over €2 million already allocated this year for humanitarian aid and disaster preparedness in the Caribbean region.
Three hands grasped in congratulation and all of them are black.
Europeans are white – they are sending valuable aid seeking nothing in return. Perhaps a white hand or two would be more appropriate