It will take years to rebuild the Bahamas. The scope of the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian this past summer is difficult to comprehend. The storm tore through the island’s infrastructure leveling roads, destroying homes, and disabling the electrical grid. More than a month has passed since the storm made landfall and tens of thousands of Bahamians are still without power or without a steady supply of food.
Hispanic Federation has seen similar devastation before. That’s why, in the aftermath of the storm, we began to plan how we could provide help as quickly and effectively as possible. For the past month that has meant working with Chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen to get solar lamps to those most in need.
“We saw first hand the effectiveness of José Andrés’ organization in Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria,” said Hispanic Federation President José Calderón. “And when the opportunity to collaborate with him and World Central Kitchen presented itself in the Bahamas, we knew that this was an opportunity to provide immediate and critical relief to people who have lost virtually everything.”
The collaboration between Hispanic Federation and World Central Kitchen has brought light and hope to residents of the islands. Hispanic Federation donated 20,000 solar-powered lamps and those lamps were delivered along with meals by WCK volunteers and staff. For many people on the islands, these solar-powered lamps will be the only source of light they have while Bahamian power grid is rebuilt.
“One of the main lessons of our work in Puerto Rico is that we can use new technology to provide relief to victims of natural disasters,” Calderón said. “The solar lamps are easy to use and give people a sense of normalcy in an otherwise chaotic environment. We’re really happy that WCK was able to deliver these lamps alongside meals to the many people who are still living in darkness in the Bahamas.”
For more information on how you can help with our relief and recovery efforts in the Bahamas and Puerto Rico, please contact Charlotte Gossett Navarro.
