Hurricane Dorian Emergency Support

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.