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5 June, 2019

United Way and Flow continue to help flood victims

Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation donates US$100,000 toward flood mitigation

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad (June 4, 2019) – The first phase of the partnership between United Way and the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation (CWCF) has been hailed as a success.

Following the widespread damage caused by severe flooding last year, United Way received a major grant totalling US$100,000 from the Foundation.

In the time since, thousands of Trinidadians have benefitted as United Way disbursed a portion of the funds to its network of nearly 200 grassroots organisations for cleaning supplies, food, clothing, water and household items.

“There can be no better way to demonstrate our commitment to the people of Trinidad and Tobago than by offering a helping hand to those most affected by devastating occurrences,” said Denise Williams, a Director of CWCF.

United Way, a non-profit organisation which mobilises resources to serve non-governmental and community-based organisations that deliver social services in Trinidad and Tobago, will also use the funds to create a national flood risk mitigation awareness campaign.

“We all saw and felt the significant impact of the floods last year, as many of our colleagues and customers were significantly impacted, so we are extremely proud to be facilitating early preparation and robust education going forward,” said Flow’s Country Manager, Kurleigh Prescod.

United Way has also used a portion of the funds to rebuild and renovate the ‘Bridge of Hope’ children’s home in Sangre Grande which was also destroyed by flood waters. Work is expected to be completed next month.

“Evidence from many countries affected by flooding emphasises the importance of engagement and empowerment of the general public in building resilience to flooding disasters by improving knowledge about the critical factors that contributes to flooding,” said Dr. Jennifer Sancho, Chief Executive Officer of United Way.

“It is critical that public information programmes avoid fear tactics and most importantly focus on the actions that can be taken to reduce vulnerabilities to these threats, so we thank the Cable & Wireless Charitable Foundation for elevating this issue and treating it with the importance it deserves.”

The CWCF was established by Cable & Wireless Communications, the parent company of Flow and Cable & Wireless Business, in the aftermath of the devastating hurricanes of 2017.

Since then, the Foundation has been partnering with organisations across the region to help with recovery and sustainability programs.