Your Favorite Caribbean Destinations Were Devastated By Hurricane Irma. Here’s How To Help.
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As you know by now, the list of locations devastated by Hurricane Irma is heartbreakingly extensive, and the Caribbean took a particularly debilitating blow. News coverage continues to share shocking photos of St. Martin, remind us that 90 percent of all buildings on Barbuda were damaged, and inform us about just how fragile Puerto Rico’s power grid is after millions were left without electricity. The region’s recovery from Hurricane Irma will certainly be expensive, exhausting and time-intensive.
Even though visiting your favorite Caribbean destination for leisure might be off the table right now, there are plenty of ways you can stand up and offer help. National (and international) disaster relief teams are stretched thin as they address the damage on island after island in country after country, so every bit of assistances truly makes a difference. Here’s how you can give back to that tropical island that has a special place in your heart.
What To Do Now: Donate
1. Team up with the American Red Cross and Oxfam International. You can always donate to these charitable organizations, although both have come under fire for how they have managed funds in years past. (It’s also worth noting that you can volunteer for the Red Cross if you’re local to Puerto Rico — or Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina or Virginia since the southeastern United States felt the wrath of Irma as well.)
2. Combat cholera with the International Medical Corps. This group is already on the ground in Haiti to battle cholera flare-ups since broken water pipes and damaged sewage systems increase the risk of cholera outbreaks. They’re also planning to send teams of first responders to other affected islands in the area.
3. Help improve water safety with Water Mission and International Relief Teams. To lessen the risk of waterborne diseases, Water Mission workers design and build safe water systems in disaster areas. International Relief Teams also have medical teams ready to assist damaged hospitals as well as provide food, water and medicine to victims.
4. Provide health care assistance with Americares. Americares is a nonprofit that’s deploying response teams and partnering with local volunteers in the Caribbean. They have medical supplies and food for short-term relief and volunteers who will stay on the ground for long-term recovery efforts.
5. Give people temporary homes with ShelterBox USA. This organization provides tents for people displaced by natural disasters but also offers kits with stocked with equipment to help repair and rebuild homes. In joining them, you’d be providing tarps, tents, cooking sets and solar lights.
How To Help In The Long Term: Show Up
1. Lend a physical hand. Unless you are a trained first responder or already in the affected areas, you will be more helpful a little later down the road. You can register to help through the National Voluntary Organizations Active In Disaster and they’ll contact you when you’re needed.
2. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The organization will be working in the Caribbean for months (and probably years) to come. Once the floodwater recedes, they’ll be taking groups into the disaster areas to tackle rebuilding efforts. You can sign up on the website and they’ll call you when teams begin to deploy.
3. Spend your travel dollars in the area. The entire region deeply depends on tourism, so once the recovery process is underway, consider heading back to the Caribbean for a visit. Your travel dollars will undoubtedly help boost local economies and get the islands back on their feet.
Recovery from a devastating natural disaster like Hurricane Irma truly takes years, but more hands on deck means we can get there that much faster. Here’s to rebuilding one of the most beautiful regions in the world.
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