Long-term Resilience Building in Dominica

Initial Assessment:
IsraAID’s Emergency Response team arrived in Puerto Rico on 27th September, with a Spanish-speaking team of water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), and mental health professionals. The team first conducted a rapid assessment of the island’s key needs by visiting numerous shelters, and meeting with local authorities, civil society organizations, the local Jewish community, and the local psychologist association.

Their initial reports noted the extensive, mass devastation to the island’s main infrastructure, and highlighted the most acute problems, including: no electricity; lack of fuel and generators; limited and in some more remote areas, no access to clean, running water; limited access to medicine; urgent needs for food and other basic items such as hygiene products; and specific communities at considerable risk of post-trauma, mental health ramifications.

Locations:
The IsraAID team identified four areas to initially focus their efforts in: Cantera, Loiza, Canovanas and Toa Baja. These are some of the poorest, lowest-income communities affected by the hurricanes, east and west of San Juan (due to great shortage of fuel, efforts were directed to areas that could be reached with a limited amount). The selection of those areas was made after consulting with local community leaders, and taking into consideration FEMA’s Housing Unit Data.

Activities: Following the assessment, the team prioritized and implemented the following activities:

(1) Distribution of water filters:
Water filters were distributed in 7 communal areas and centers, with comprehensive, supplementary training in Spanish, to ensure they are used effectively. In addition, IsraAID coordinated with FEMA Safety and Disability Unit to train 20 people from rural mountain areas, which are difficult to access, about the installation, use and maintenance of filters. The Head of Safety agreed to supervise the distribution of these filters, using this newly-trained group of people, and its department centers. Each filter can provide clean water for approximately 25 people. To date, the team has distributed 29 filters, impacting over 725 people.

(2) Distribution of food and other basic relief items:
The team visited the four areas of Cantera, Loiza, Canovanas and Toa Baja, and distributed food, and other items, such as hygiene products and solar lamps and chargers, to 110 families. The solar lamps and chargers are critical due to the lack of electricity and availability of generators.

(3) Psychological support:
The team visited 6 shelters and gave direct mental health support to some of the most vulnerable individuals. They also worked closely with the Puerto Rican Association of Psychology; and two local psychologists and an Anthropology Professor from UPR (and from the Jewish community of San Juan), joined the PSS team as volunteers. This builds the capacity of the local volunteers and organizations to ensure a wider impact and network of support.

So far over 2,300 people have been reached by our team’s activities in Puerto Rico!

Next Steps:
A Spanish-speaking water engineer from Israel is joining the team, plus, another relief manager who previously worked in the Florida Emergency Response team. In addition to continuing the existing activities, the team is currently planning a larger-scale water purification program, with local partners, to have a wider reach. The team has met with two local specialists to discuss optional programs regarding the matter of water quality and its relation to epidemic diseases. Due to the high mortality rate of livestock since the hurricane, some bodies of water are contaminated. In areas where people have no running water, they are using these bodies of water for their daily necessities, therefore putting the health in danger.

More updates to follow!