Citizens continued to rally together to provide urgent relief supplies for thousands of people who were left practically homeless after their properties were swamped by flood waters.
Today, fives days after the catastrophic national disaster that struck several parts of the country, many citizens are still begging for aid, food, water, clothing and mattresses.
Grants provided by the Ministry of Social Service will become available by Friday.
Many homeowners have lost all of their appliances, furniture, clothing, vehicles and other important documents.
Starting from scratch is a real challenge and many are in need of psychological help, especially children. Teams from the protective services were on hand not only to aid in the rescue missions but also to help people scrub away the mud and muck left by the stagnant waters over the past days.
The United Nations, in a statement yesterday, said it stood in solidarity with the people of T&T as they confront the impact of the devastating floods.
The UN is collaborating with government agencies in providing technical advice and developing strategies for longer-term relief and recovery.
The Office of the Prime Minister announced yesterday that the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America had also made a donation of $US$200,000 (TT$1.3m) to assist in flood relief efforts. Through the Guardian Media campaign, Flood of Relief, thousands of people shared how they were helping those citizens whose homes have been ravaged by the flood waters.
The co-operation of the State, citizens, businesses, NGOs and religious organisations have spawned a movement rarely seen in the country.
Many citizens have applauded the teamwork and long for it to continue. Citizens abroad are also anxious to assist and efforts are being made to provide a suitable channel to receive such donations.
The Prime Ministers of Jamaica, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada and the Venezuela President have also indicated that they are on standby to assist the people of Trinidad and Tobago in the event requests for assistance are forthcoming, a statement from the Office of the Prime Minister said.
In an effort to capture this huge outpouring of support to those in need at this time and in order to provide a single platform and vehicle for sharing critical information, the Guardian Media Group has created an initiative called Flood of Relief.
The platform provides a real-time avenue for the sharing of flood heroes, health tips and traffic alerts. It also highlighted the good of our people.
We will continue to use this medium to educate and inform the public on the resources available to those affected and open a channel through which you can respond with support which you may wish to give and the means of doing so.
Contributors
Chairman of the ANSA McAL Group of Companies, Norman Sabga, has announced a one million dollar initial donation in goods to the areas affected.
More support has also come through:
The Agostini Group of Companies
The Prestige Group of Companies
Sagicor
Dairy Dairy
Colin Sabga (Iceland)
FireOne Fireworks and Fineline
Distributors.
Hadco
Massy
Blue Waters
Global Brands (Pizza Boys)
Nutrimix
BPTT
Government Ministries
Optometrists Today
People’s National Movement
United National Congress
Coosal’s Group of Companies
Sandals Foundation
National Flour Mills
Pizza Boys
Pennywise
All regional corporations
Gobin Property Rentals
Lions Club of Chaguanas
Tropical Power
Sagicor
Help is available by writing to floodrelief@guardian.co.tt
Follow the stories of recovery at http://www.guardian.co.tt/flood
Follow the stories of relief at http://www.cnc3.co.tt
Follow the relief efforts at www.http://www.guardian.co.tt
Email us your information at floodrelief@guardian.co.tt
visit http://www.guardian.co.tt/flood for real-time updates
Contact Nos
NORTH
Felicia Holder - 769-4590
Richard Blazie - 498-6085
Janice Learmond-Criqui - 290-8171
CENTRAL
Anthony de Four - 688-4012
Lorena Lucien- 388-4330
EAST
Sateesh Ramsaran - 796-8172
Adisa - 347-7260
Christoph Samlal - 740-6769
SOUTH
Michelle Davis - 314-8429
BATT sets up acounts
The Bankers' Association of Trinidad and Tobago (BATT) has created an account in the name of T&T Flood Relief.
Each of BATT’s member banks has opened an account and invites the public to make financial donations to assist these affected communities in their recovery process. Each bank is working with its respective NGO to ensure that the relief items meet the required families who were impacted.
The following banks and their accounts are listed below.
List of Bank Accounts
Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited - 4008209
First Citizens Bank Limited - 2536104
RBC Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago - 110000003950633
Republic Bank Limited - 180 802 163 801
JMMB Bank - 6936300401
First Caribbean International Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) - 1005127