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From:TheBahamasWeekly.com Organization of American States (OAS)
The Organization of American States (OAS), through the Inter-American Emergency Aid Fund (FONDEM), today made a contribution to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Dominica to help in the efforts to recover from the effects of the torrential rains and flooding on Christmas Day. During the ceremony held to announce the contributions, the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, expressed his hope that “this contribution will help alleviate as much as possible the situation.” “We encourage others as well as our friends in the Inter-American system to provide economic support for the affected countries. We hope that our symbolic contribution can help promote those efforts,” said the Secretary General, who made the symbolic contribution together with the Assistant Secretary General, Albert Ramdin. The Permanent Representative of Dominica to the OAS, Hubert Charles, expressed his gratitude for the contribution, and added that “we are not surprised that the OAS is among the first to step up and provide financial assistance.” “I want to highlight the importance of continued OAS engagement in building capacity and in moving forward our development agenda,” emphasized Ambassador Charles, who concluded that “the more developed we are, the better positioned we are to respond to disasters like this one.” The Ambassador from Saint Lucia, Sonia Johnny, thanked the OAS for its “generous support” as well as its help in taking the first steps in the search for assistance after the storm. “We needed assistance immediately and the PADF and the OAS responded immediately,” said Ambassador Johnny. For her part, the Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, La Celia Prince, said “we have been very fortunate to have the support of the OAS on this journey.” “For me the OAS were the first responders since this disaster,” said Ambassador Prince. “I received calls from the office of the Secretary General immediately after the disaster and we have been in communication ever since,” said the diplomat from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who added that “this is a good example of brilliant Inter-American cooperation and we are very grateful.” The affected countries detailed the damages caused by the storm and their need for international assistance during a press conference held today at the headquarters of the OAS in Washington, DC. For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.
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