Hurricane Dorian Emergency Support

Just six months after Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Here, just like most other places in the world, lockdowns went into effect, schools closed down, and tourism basically disappeared. Because communities here on the ground were still recovering from the immense damage caused by the storm, many were left even more vulnerable to this new pandemic reality.

The island of Abaco was the most severely affected by Hurricane Dorian. Overall, the storm claimed the lives of hundreds and caused significant damage, with 75% of the homes in the Marsh Harbour area destroyed. Water sources were flooded with sea water, causing salination levels to skyrocket, rendering the water unsafe for drinking.

But recovery efforts were cut short. The hurricane hit in September 2019, and just as communities were beginning to get back to their daily lives, COVID-19 arrived. But this second disaster, layered on top of the most recent emergency, took a toll on our communities that we never could have anticipated. Whereas after the hurricane we were able to get together to support one another and rebuild as a community, this time, the simple act of gathering was extremely dangerous.

While many other communities around the globe switched to virtual events, this was not possible for many in Abaco, who were still without electricity due to infrastructural damage caused by the hurricane. This also meant no WiFi. Hundreds of students across the island were unable to access virtual education programming and see their teachers and friends. Many of these children had already been out of classes for much of the year because of damage to their school buildings.

As always, IsraAID Bahamas worked closely with local partners to assess and then address these rapidly changing needs. During the immediate lockdown, IsraAID joined forces with ADRA and Latter-Day Saint Charities to distribute tablets with solar chargers and data packages to children who could not access daily classes. We also launched training sessions for local teachers, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, on integrating psychosocial support and stress relief for children amid the pandemic. Through these webinars, the IsraAID team reached 1,900 beneficiaries.

On October 5, schools reopened. IsraAID’s “Healthy Return to School” program, implemented in partnership with MASHAV of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, aims to ease this transition by distributing hygiene products and personal protective equipment to local schools on Grand Bahama island — which, like Abaco, was significantly affected by Hurricane Dorian. Schools are provided with disinfectants, gloves, hand sanitizers and thermometers, to ensure that face-to-face teaching would be as safe as possible. A local service organization, the Anchor Division of the Pilot Club (Lucaya), made and donated 500 reusable face masks for one of the primary schools, ensuring that students can attend school comfortably and safely. This program is ongoing, and will continue for the coming months.

Returning to school represents so much more than mathematics and spelling and reading. It also allows children, parents, teachers, and communities to come back together, to learn and grow. This social fabric is essential to cultivating resilient communities, who know how to rely on one another, work together, and look forward toward the future. Whether this is in a virtual classroom on a tablet, or in a physical classroom behind a mask, or in our new Stronger Together Center, which will serve as an emergency shelter and resource center, the IsraAID team is committed to continuing supporting vulnerable communities as they recover from crisis, together.

In the months since Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas, IsraAID has been active on the ground providing urgent support to affected communities. The storm primarily impacted the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, where IsraAID continues to operate. Critical infrastructure was severely damaged, and still today, much of Abaco remains without electricity and internet access. These challenges were and are further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted response efforts just six months after Dorian, as the 2020 hurricane season began. 

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Programming
Upon arriving in the Bahamas, IsraAID WASH staff began to meet and establish partnerships with local water actors. As the team began to test the water in numerous private wells in locations across the islands, we distributed Sawyer water filters, thereby restoring access to safe water from these specific wells. However, as the team tested other wells across the island, we discovered that many of them suffered high levels of salination due to the influx of seawater, rendering Sawyer water filters insufficient to ensure water safety. Responding to these needs, IsraAID established water distribution centers and implemented water trucking projects to ensure that remote communities had safe water access. 

Child Friendly Spaces – Safe Spaces for Children Post-Disaster
IsraAID’s teams established 10 Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) across three islands as schools were shut down and routine was disrupted, to provide an immediate response to children’s needs. Due to the breakout of COVID-19, the  IsraAID team had to close all CFS operations in March. As the Bahamas’ Ministry of Education launched an online Virtual School to continue the school year, needs assessments on the ground showed that some 37,000 children were unable to access the platform due to a lack of devices, internet connectivity, electricity, and rising unemployment. In response to this need, IsraAID and its partners launched a distribution campaign to supply 850 households with child-safe data-enabled tablets, solar chargers, and data packages to provide the necessary platform for Abaco children and other displaced children to continue schooling. 

Next Steps
Over the last months, the IsraAID team has conducted a comprehensive assessment to better understand the needs in the Bahamas toward building back better after Hurricane Dorian, with the COVID-19 context and the current hurricane season in mind. This revealed a significant gap in key community services for children, youth, and the elderly—among the most vulnerable groups in society; plus, a lack of emergency shelters. As such, IsraAID in collaboration with our local partners, will establish “Stronger Together Centers,” to serve as a hub for psychosocial educational-community development services and opportunities, toward bolstering community resilience. 

Thank you for your continued support, especially in the middle of the hurricane season during a pandemic.