PARAMARIBO, Suriname – The government of Suriname, through the National Coordination Center for Disaster Management (NCCR), says it will be sending a shipment of rice, flour, pasta and tarpaulins to Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – the islands that were severely hit by Hurricane Beryl last month.
According to NCCR coordinator Jerry Slijngard, the relief supplies were selected at the request of the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state.
Suriname has also provided financial support at the request of both countries, for the reconstruction of their economies.
Each country received an amount of US$ 100,000 and in addition US$ 25,000 was donated to the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to support its operations.
“These financial contributions underline Suriname’s solidarity with its sister countries in the region,” says Slijngard.
The two 40-foot containers of relief supplies with a total volume of thirteen tons per country were loaded this week and will be shipped shortly.
The NCCR director hopes that the shipment will arrive on the two islands next week. He noted that Suriname was able to step in thanks to “the generous contributions of donors, who spontaneously agreed to provide their support”.
The CDEMA had called on the member countries to support the affected countries with relief supplies. Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, among others, have already delivered aid. Slijngard emphasized that Suriname, although it did not come in immediately, does so at a time that is appropriate.
Jerry Slijngard
He argued that it is often problematic to deliver relief supplies immediately after a disaster, since the situation in the affected countries is often chaotic and the ports are not yet operational to receive the relief supplies. In addition, the goods are often sent at the request of the countries, because there are rules about which products are allowed into the country.
