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Last updated
20 August 2008

£50,000 EMERGENCY GRANT- CARIBBEAN HURRICANES

The President of the Grand Charity has approved payment of an emergency grant of £50,000 from The Grand Charity to the British Red Cross in response to an emergency appeal for funds to help those affected by hurricanes and tropical storms in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean has been hit by some of the some of the worst hurricanes in fifty years. Hurricane Ivan first struck Grenada, where at least 23 people have died and 90 percent of the homes have been damaged. More than 60,000 people have been made homeless, and 5,000 have sought refuge in shelters. In Jamaica, at least 15 people were killed and there was extensive damage to roofs and roads. In the Cayman Islands winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour caused severe flooding in parts of Grand Cayman Island. Up to half of the island’s 15,000 homes were affected.

Tropical Storm Jeanne has also caused widespread destruction in countries such as Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In Haiti, at least 700 people have died and many more have been made homeless.

The Red Cross, led by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, has launched an appeal for £2.6 million to help people affected by Hurricane Ivan and an appeal for £1.9 million to help 40,000 people in Haiti affected by Tropical Storm Jeanne.

The British Red Cross has set a target of £250,000 for its appeal and so the £50,000 grant from The Grand Charity will make a considerable difference. Money from the appeal will provide shelter materials, food, blankets, kitchen sets, hygiene articles and jerry cans for people across the Caribbean, particularly in Grenada, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

The kits cost £34 each, and the donation from The Grand Charity will therefore buy kits for up to 1,470 families.

29 September 2004