Guyana donates rice to storm-ravaged Dominica

Last Updated on Monday, 7 September 2015, 16:06 by GxMedia

Guyana is donating a large quantity of rice to Dominica which is slowly recovering from the ravages of Tropical Storm Erika.

The Ministry of the Presidency said rice was identified as one of the needs following an assessment by Guyana’s Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDEMA).

Minister of State Joseph Harrmon announced that Guyana would be sending a 20 foot container packed with rice, at the opening of a workshop for the CDC on Monday.

The Minister says Guyana’s response is timely since it is based on a “correct needs analysis of what is currently required in the Tropical Storm ravaged country”. He lamented the fact that there are many countries which when faced with similar natural disasters receive items from their Caribbean counterparts that are “useless”.This the minister added must not continue as he indicated that Guyana will not deliver items that cannot be used, or those that are unserviceable.Harmon emphasized that Guyana’s donation is a “measured response, and one which has been made after careful consideration of what is required by Dominica in their time of distress”.

The CDC is expected to make the necessary arrangements and put logistics in place for that container of rice to be delivered to Dominicans.

Meanwhile, the Government of Guyana continues to express concern about the lives lost and the damage to property in Dominica following the passage of Tropical Storm Erika.

Recently, Guyana’s Private Sector Commission (PSC) donated a quantity of medicines, generators and other items, through the Caricom Secretariat, to the Dominica relief effort.