Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation gives US$100,000 to United Way of T&T

FLOOD RESPONSE and mitigation activities in Trinidad and Tobago will get a significant boost as the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF) and FLOW partner with the United Way of Trinidad and Tobago (UWTT) to donate US$100,000 to support a broad range of response programmes across the island.

The partnership will focus on rebuilding activities that specifically benefit vulnerable groups, as well as a longer-term awareness programme to mitigate the impact of natural hazards.

Speaking on the importance of this partnership and how his company responded to the recent floods, FLOW’s country manager, Ian Serrao, said that immediately after the flood, FLOW Trinidad initiated their disaster protocols to ensure that their team members were safe and to ensure that their customers would have access to critical communications services.

“We also activated our regional foundation to support the broader humanitarian needs that have arisen. After several investigations, site visits, and consultations, we made the decision to partner with United Way of Trinidad and Tobago as the umbrella organisation to manage the donation, given their extensive expertise in this area,” Serrao said.

UWTT’s chief executive officer, Dr Jennifer Sancho, said they learnt from other regional experiences with support in Haiti after the 2012 earthquake and in 2017 with hurricane relief in Dominica and other regional neighbours.

CONTINUED SUPPORT

“Communities and families affected by disasters need our continued support beyond the immediate crisis stage. Flooding has become devastating and relentless because of our rapid growth and effects of climate change. Flooding is not a one-off event. We need to prepare for the months ahead. UWTT’s strategic advantage is that we are a partner for the medium to longer-term recovery as life assumes some level of normalcy, particularly for those affected,” Sancho said.

This latest donation to Trinidad and Tobago by CWCF brings the total amount committed to rebuilding efforts across the region to more than US$1 million since the foundation was launched just over a year ago.

Over $750,000 is earmarked to rebuild and re-equip educational facilities in Dominica, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), and these longer-term projects follow a donation of $100,000 to Shelterbox that helped address the immediate needs of those affected by the 2017 hurricanes across the region.

The foundation is also supporting longer term and resiliency programmes across the region and has donated $25,000 to PR4PR in Puerto Rico, $25,000 to Curaçao Cares and $20,000 to Jamaica to support activities to build resiliency among youth and vulnerable communities.