News

R3 Cayman Foundation (R3) donated US$60,000 to the East End New Testament Church of God’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) at the start of the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season to procure the necessary equipment and supplies for the team to be able to provide immediate response to emergencies caused by hurricanes and other natural disasters.

The donation is in line with the foundation’s strategic shift to readiness programming following the relief and recovery efforts from Covid-19, and is part of a wider initiative to ensure all CERTs across our Islands have the tools and resources they need to act in the event of a disaster.

As the eastern district is often the first and worst hit during a storm, and the hardest for emergency teams to respond to post-event, R3’s Readiness Committee saw the need for the East End CERT, who had previously completed Hazard Management Cayman Islands’ CERT programme, to be better equipped to serve the community in its role.

The donated funds were used to purchase a trailer and tools such as generators, trash pumps, base radios, chainsaws, fire extinguishers and other resources to allow the CERT to immediately respond to emergencies and lessen the effects of disaster events by being able to mobilise and assist the more vulnerable people and places within their community.

Hurricane season in the Cayman Islands typically runs from June to November. Last weekend, the Cayman community gathered to mark the end of the season as part of Cayman Thanksgiving, an annual celebration to express gratitude for our many blessings.

“R3 Cayman Foundation is pleased to donate the first CERT trailer to the district of East End to better prepare and protect the community in the event of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Ivan of 2004,” said R3’s Readiness Chair, Richard Hew. “While we are fortunate the CERT team did not have to deploy this hurricane season, we are thankful for the professional group of volunteers who helped to install this valuable equipment that is ready to be utilised when needed—a resource we hope to have in every district in the future.”

Darren Kirchman, Missions and Disaster Director – East End CERT Leader said, “It was invaluable to have this trailer stocked with the necessary equipment at the start of the 2022 Hurricane Season to strengthen the community’s ability to respond to natural disasters and mitigate the impacts immediately thereafter.”

In R3’s third year of operation, it distributed almost US$3 million to not-for-profit organisations and governmental agencies, with half of its donations focused on readiness efforts, assisting with disaster preparedness, infrastructure hardening and investments in immediate response equipment and systems.

“The CERT equipment will help the East End community better prepare for and respond to an emergency,” said Hon. Isaac Rankine, MP for East End. “It improves the resiliency of the community knowing we have persons who are trained and willing to respond in the event of an emergency or disaster.”