Americares sends relief to Bahamas

STAMFORD — A shipment of hygiene kits landed in the Bahamas on Friday, and another is on its way, courtesy of a Stamfordbased relief organization responding to the destruction of Hurricane Dorian.

It’s just the start of what could be a long recovery process.

“This is not going to be a response of a couple of days,” said Kate Dischino, vice president of emergency programs for Americares. “It will be weeks and months and years to come.”

The Category 5 hurricane with 180 mph winds slammed into Grand Bahama Island on Sunday, leaving at least 30 dead, plunging large swaths of the nation under water, and destroying roads and buildings.

An Americares team of two people arrived in the Bahamas on Wednesday, Dischino said, and the team should grow to six people this weekend. Dischino said the number of aid shipments will also increase.

“We anticipate sending many, many more over the coming days and weeks,” she said.

The hygiene kits include soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and shampoo, or as Dischino put it, “All of the things that when you’re displaced, you need to feel human.”

Hygiene products can also be essential in disasters as a way to prevent the spread of disease, she said.

Americares also continues to maintain an emergency response team on standby in Florida, ready to respond to affected areas across the country as Dorian heads up the East Coast.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal met with the Americares staff to get an update on the response effort.

Blumenthal also urged residents to donate to the organization, which responds to about 30 natural disasters and humanitarian crises around the world each year.

The Stamford relief organization has a team of relief workers ready to respond to disasters, as well as a stock of emergency medicine and supplies in warehouses in the United States, Europe and India.

The organization provided relief to Puerto Rico in 2017 in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Donations can be made to the organization by visiting americares.org.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media Kate Dischino, vice president of emergency programs speaks during a news conference held in the distribution center at Americares in Stamford on Friday. Pallets of emergency relief supplies have been prepared for shipment to the Bahamas and Florida to help those affected by Hurricane Dorian.