CORE commits to complete the full repair and retrofits of 300 individual shelters/homes in Abaco and Grand Bahama Island (GBI), complete full debris removal for 35 sites (totaling 21,000 cubic meters of debris), and provide 20 solar streetlights to the neighborhoods still impacted by lack of electricity. This commitment will support nine communities that were direct impacted and have suffered the greatest damages from Hurricane Dorian. CORE seeks to fulfill this commitment over the span of 15 months (from January 2020).
The 300 individual repairs and retrofits to shelters/homes in Abaco and GBI will entail all or some of the following: roof, exterior wall, interior wall (kitchen, bathroom, living room), electrical system, and plumbing repairs. The repairs and retrofits will bring each house to a healthy, livable condition, and ensure households are adequately prepared for future natural disasters. Specifically, CORE will provide disaster risk mitigation training and support to each household, totaling of 300 people receiving training.
Next, to accelerate the recovery process, CORE will hire and train local work crews to clear debris. The local crews will complete full muck outs and debris removal for 35 sites (totaling 21,000 cubic meters of debris) in highly impacted communities in Abaco and GBI. To execute the debris removal, CORE will implement their cash-for-work (CFW) model and employ 965 local people, creating 960 part-time and five full-time temporary jobs in the community. This model aims to quickly infuse cash into the most affected communities and boost their economies.
Finally, as part of providing residents with essential supplies needed to maintain or improve their quality of life during the transitional period, CORE commits to the provision and full set up of 20 solar streetlights to individual households whose homes suffered damages. This is especially important in addressing urgent needs in Abaco as most of the island was without power for a significant amount of time post-hurricane, and many residents continue to live without electricity.
2020-21 Action Plan:
Q1: Assessment, beneficiary intake, setting up field staff/hiring, establishment of coordination mechanisms, baseline assessments, sourcing all equipment (e.g., materials for home repairs and heavy equipment and supplies needed for debris removal), vendor assessment and identification, community mobilization and education campaigns, and setting up M&E system in the field.
Q2: Ongoing debris removal activities which entails recruiting and training local laborers as part of CORE’s cash-for-work (CFW) team, and ongoing debris removal work throughout public and private spaces in the targeted communities. In addition, CORE will start the assessment and intake phase for shelter repair beneficiaries in Q2, and will continue through Q4 as home repair assessments, intake, selection, and labor/training will occur in a rolling fashion. Finally, solar lanterns will be distributed to beneficiaries selected for home repair and/or debris removal.
Q3: Ongoing debris removal activities as mentioned in Q2. Ongoing shelter/house repair activities as mentioned in Q2.
Q4: Ongoing debris removal activities as mentioned in Q2. Ongoing shelter/house repair activities as mentioned in Q2.
Year 2 Q1: Project closeout, final assessments, detailed documentation of housing repairs.
On September 1, 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas, causing widespread devastation, particularly on the northern islands of Abaco and Grand Bahama (GBI). The hurricane left thousands of individuals and families displaced and destroyed infrastructure. Dorian’s powerful winds severely damaged large numbers of individual houses, schools, businesses, vehicles, and public spaces such as parks and infrastructure. Most concrete and wood-framed homes and businesses in the storm surge’s path suffered significant damages as they were unable to withstand the 200 mph winds, churning water, and other debris. Heavily impacted areas on the islands of Abaco and GBI remain clogged with debris from shattered houses (e.g., plywood, wood panels, and concrete blocks), damaged and destroyed household goods, vehicles, boats, and natural debris such as downed trees and mangroves uprooted by the storm surge. The debris in these communities remains significant and greatly impedes recovery efforts.
Affected households are predominantly sheltered in either GBI or the capital, Nassau, and return intermittently to check on their homes, clean out flooded interiors, and repair roofs and walls when possible. Recovery efforts in Abaco remain challenging due to the proximity of Hurricane Dorian’s eye to urban and commercial centers. Unfortunately, the hurricane’s path centered in Marsh Harbour, causing destruction and substantial debris in commercial centers. Recovery in Abaco has been hindered by the evacuation of a large percentage of the population. Based on informal interviews of those displaced, many are reluctant to return home to start the recovery process because of the overwhelming amount of debris, the lack of basic services and livelihoods, as well as the fear of being unable to replace and restore lost assets. However, as debris removal efforts have increased, households have begun to return and rebuild their lives with the support of their neighbors and community.
CORE is seeking additional resources through CGI and the Action Network partners in the form of financial contributions or implementing partners who could help augment our existing program outcomes. For example, it would be helpful to bring in support from additional partners who could provide either cash contribution or in-kind donation to help support either housing repair, debris removal, and/or solar streetlight implementation. While CORE has existing vendors, in-kind donations of materials and supplies are helpful and would alleviate workload of our programs staff.
CORE is able to provide best practices to interested organizations, specifically through sharing their educational support resources being provided to impacted communities.