CATEGORY:DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ----------------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA Friday April 06,2007 by Rawle Titus A team from the international aid agency Oxfam has been visiting Grenada and talking with stakeholders to see how best assistance can be channeled to the island in the event of a natural disaster. The team comprised Siuwa Iyahen, project Officer in the English Speaking Caribbean and Hauke Hoops, regional humanitarian coordinator for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. They have met with officials of the National Disaster Management Agency (NaDMA) as well as representatives from community groups. Their visit here was part of a swing through the region to agree on Disaster Management plans for Jamaica, Guyana and a separate one for the Windward Islands and Barbados. “The purpose of the visit is to evaluate, to see how Oxfam and its partners are able to respond in the event of an emergency .This includes Hurricanes, Volcanic eruptions or any other kind of disasters” Iyahen said. “So the purpose is to coordinate with NaDMA and to see if they can give us any kind of information on their national disaster plans and on disaster preparedness so that we can incorporate it into our own contingency plans for the English speaking Caribbean. That plan for the Windward Island and Barbados is what we are currently working on now”. Oxfam began work in Grenada after Hurricane Ivan ravaged the island nearly three years ago. The British based organization provided significant assistance to the island in food security, water and sanitation. “We have worked with partners of the civil society especially in rural areas of the island to re-establish farms, to clean farms, we have facilitated water directly after the Hurricane” said Hauke Hoops. Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice.