November 26, 2007 Mandeville, Jamaica [Nigel Coke/WIU/IAD] Thanks to the generosity of the Republic of Germany and the coordinated efforts of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Jamaica, residents in the communities in Jamaica hit hardest by Hurricane Dean last August will receive much needed roofing materials.
The supplies worth over five million dollars will benefit approximately 136 homes in the worst hit areas of the parishes of St. Thomas, St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth.
Residents in Portland Cottage in South Clarendon were among the first to receive the roofing materials on Nov. 20.
Ambassador of the Republic of Germany, His Excellency Juergen Engel, expressed delight in his country’s ability to assist.
“We always seek to help with humanitarian emergency aid,” he said. “Our rule is that we always work with a humanitarian organization and we remember that we did the same thing after Hurricane Ivan when we worked with ADRA and it was a good experience, and so we decided to do this again with them.”
Desmond Robinson, director of ADRA-Jamaica said expressed gratitude for the collaborative effort the people of the Republic of Germany have shown through Ambassador Engel.
“One of the good things about this project is that while there is funding from the German Government, there is also a grand opportunity for community collaboration where you will see young men of the community coming together and assisting to repair the old persons’ roofs,” said Robinson. “We are engaged in building communities and it is not only about putting on roofs on houses, but it is also about re-roofing the social structure of the communities that we are involved in.”
“I am very thankful for this,” said 69 year-old Icyline Vernon who lost her roof during the Hurricane. “I am very happy for the ply because all of that was torn up after the zincs sheets were torn off.”
Since passage of Hurricane Dean, ADRA has been actively involved with government and non-government organizations in ensuring that relief is given to areas of greatest need. Other communities will receive distribution of roofing materials under Germany/ADRA project in the coming days.
